Convergence
by springfieldbluebird
Summary: When they are children, Caleb Dume meets Hera while on a mission after the Liberation of Ryloth. Approximately fifteen years later, they meet again by accident while Hera and her team are picking up a shipment. As Caleb, now Kanan Jarrus, unwittingly gets involved in the crew's next mission, he sees something in one of them, something that could be dangerous.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is my new little diversion. Consider it A/U because I did have to play around facts a little, with the timeline a bit and I made up a planet. I know first chapter's short, but I'm still working on the next few chapters and plan to post again next weekend...unless I get talked into posting earlier...LOL. This is another-type of origin story for me, but this is what happens when I get to thinking what would happen if... Also, I have a whole other plan for this than I did for "Transmutation", so I hope you like it. OH! and Sabine will be coming. She's part of the action later, so don't think I cut her out for no good reason.

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1\. Then

The scent of earth and rock surrounded the beings in the tunnel as they made their way through to a larger cave. Halo lights lit the chamber which contained several pieces of furniture, along with a large holotable in the middle. Depa Billaba and her padawan Caleb Dume had come to Cham Syndulla's residence, then been taken to this hidden conference room far beneath the house. Caleb assumed it was to be certain they weren't eavesdropped on by listening devices, because they had been scanned for such before they had been brought to this room. The war on Ryloth was over, but it had apparently left its mark on the planet's inhabitants. Even though Master Windu had helped save Ryloth,and the battles were over, Syndulla retained his cautious nature, and so the precautions.

His Master took a seat on a rock ledge carved into the stone for the purpose, and gestured to the rock near him. "Sit if you wish. It may be a while before we are joined by Master Windu and Syndulla."

"Yes, Master." The thirteen-year-old padawan followed suit. He glanced to his master and saw she had closed her eyes, obviously in meditation. He tried to do the same thing, but thoughts of their mission were getting in the way. They were here to escort Master Windu back to Coruscant after the victory on Ryloth. It would be the first time Caleb would meet Windu after becoming Master Billaba's padawan. Usually younglings went to Ilum to get their lightsaber crystals, but instead, he and Billaba had traveled to a planet named Jedha, which some said contained one of the most important Jedi temples. Caleb had received his kyber crystal after facing a test of his greatest fear. This time he would meet Windu not as a temple youngling, but as a full-fledged Padawan who had won his Kyber crystal and would soon build his own lightsaber. He examined his emotions about Windu and realized that he wasn't trying to impress the Jedi It was more like he wanted to prove himself a worthy padawan to Master Billaba.

He wondered was that the wrong thing to think? Was wanting to make someone proud un-Jedi-like behavior? He was supposed to let go of pride, wasn't he? But it wasn't like he wanted it for himself. Mainly, he just wanted her to be glad that she chose him...that was all. Did that count? He sighed at all the questions piling up in his mind. This was not helping him meditate at all.

As he tried to quiet his mind, a brilliant force-signature became slowly apparent, and he watched its shine with his inward eye while it moved across the room towards him. He opened his eyes to see a girl, a Twi'lek of about 7 or 8, standing there, in front of him, looking at him with a wondering gaze. "Woah..." She whispered as he looked into her green eyes. "You're a Jedi?" She spoke in carefully accented Basic.

Caleb nodded. "A padawan," he said, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb his master. He did not notice that Depa had cracked open an eye and was watching them with the hint of a smile on her features. The boy looked at the radiant warmth of the Twi'lek's Force-signature again. It was like a tiny sun, lighting up the room, just like her smile. She was a lot shorter than he was, with skin the color of new leaves, spring leaves that had just unfurled themselves to the sun. He smiled at her, then put out his hand. "I'm Caleb Dume. Padawan to Master Depa Billaba."

"I'm Hera Syndulla." Her lekku curled a little at the tips, shyly, when she introduced herself and shook his hand in return. "You must be here to see my father."

He nodded. "We are here to escort Master Windu back to Coruscant."

"Father will probably be late. He's always late." Her lekku twitched as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. An old, dented and dirty astromech wheeled over to them. "Chopper! I told you to stay back in my room." Hera went over to the mech, who was flailing one manipulator arm while the other arm hung limply at his side, obviously broken.

"Wow. An astromech. Is he yours?" Caleb came over with her to peer at the orange and white droid.

"Yeah. I found him a year ago, and I've been fixing him up. His manipulator is broken, though." She frowned. "If I find a new arm for him, he'll be good as new, but after this war, parts are hard to come by."

He was dented and had some carbon scoring. Caleb knelt down beside the droid, who began to squawk loudly. "Shhh!" Hera cried, almost as loud as his squawking. "You'll disturb Master Billaba!"

Neither child heard a soft, muffled laugh come from the Jedi across the room.

"Do you have a Harris wrench?" Caleb asked her, peering at the droid's arm.

"Yep," Hera withdrew the tool from her back pocket, and handed it over to him. "Do you know how to fix it?"

"Maybe. Let me get in here and take a look." Caleb backed up quickly when Chopper rocked indignantly from side to side on his struts.

"Stop, Chop. That's not nice. Let him try to fix you." Hera peered at what Caleb was doing to the little droid, intent on learning where she'd gone wrong.

Caleb removed the arm, took the edge of his sleeve and cleaned the connectors. He tried reversing them from the way they were before, but it didn't work. Then he peered more closely at the tech that connected the arm and servo to the droid's electronics and he found some bent connection points. He straightened the metal connectors the best he could, then replaced them. "It's hard to see where it's bent, but look right here." Caleb pointed. "He's had some damage. Ok, now let's see..."

"He was in a crash. I found him in pieces and had to get a new leg for him, but it doesn't match. He doesn't like it very much. After that, I put on new optics. His old ones were cracked."

"I'd say you did a pretty good job." He used the wrench and replaced the arm. Immediately Chopper waved it in the air with a "ta-da" noise.

"That was it...the connectors were just damaged. You're all good now."

"Thank you so much!" Hera threw her arms around Caleb in her excitement. Then she realized what she'd done and quickly let him go and turned back to Chopper as her lekku flushed.

Caleb felt pride again—no it was thankfulness. Jedi were supposed to help others, and helping her made him feel as if he were fulfilling his purpose in life. "It was nothing." He murmured. He was struggling for what else to say when he felt, rather than saw, a new presence in the room. Hera looked up immediately, her happy expression falling. It was her father.

"Hera. Get that rusty, bucket of bolts out of here, before I get a servant to haul it off." His voice was sharp. By the way Hera reacted, it wasn't the first time he'd been short with her.

"Yes, father. C'mon Chop." Chopper made a grumpy noise, and Hera patted the astromech on the head to start him moving along with her. When she was almost out of the other door, she cast her gaze back to Caleb where her father couldn't see it and mouthed a silent 'Thank you.'

He smiled softly at the younger Twi'lek, then returned his gaze to Cham Syndulla. Later, he would not remember much of the meeting with the famous resistance leader, but the girl...the girl and her smile he would remember. As with all things when the Force was involved, there was a good reason for it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for reading this! I love all the reviews. I hope Chapter 2 lives up to expectations. This site really is the best site for readers. You guys rock. In this chapter, Hera meets Kanan for the first time since their childhood. Please read and review!

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2\. Now

Zeb took a seat at the bar where he could keep an eye on Hera. They were here to meet Jaquar, a client who had a load of hyperspace computers to go to Ylix. Of course they were hot, most likely stolen from the Empire and the reason for all the secrecy. Good thing that hurting the Empire wasn't likely to cause the Lasat to spend any sleepless nights feeling bad. If they could make some money and hurt the Empire to boot...it was a win-win situation as far as Zeb was concerned.

He must have smiled a toothy smile at that thought because he drew some attention from the guy sitting on the other side of the L-shaped bar. His blue-green eyes passed over Zeb, seeming to weigh and measure him, then his gaze skated away, back to his own drink.

Sirat was packed for the Empire Day celebrations. Most of the bars were wall-to-wall, standing room only. This one wasn't quite so busy, being one of the older watering holes in the capital. As a result, it was easier to keep an eye on Hera and make sure that this guy Jaquar was who he was supposed to be. If not...well, Zeb would do what he did best; he would protect his team.

He took another sip and glanced around the bar. The brown-haired human pointed at his glass when he got the attention of the bartender. "Another one."

The bartender was an older, heavy-set human woman with short dyed silver hair and tattoos twining up both of her forearms. "C'mon, cutiepie. Five Reactor Cores on top of all the other stuff? You lookin' to die tonight?"

"Don't call me kid." He appeared drunk, but not sloppy as he pushed his glass toward her. He was keeping to himself—a man on a mission to obliterate a bad day, maybe. One more Reactor Core and Zeb knew that the hard-drinking patron would need to be carried out of here. The Lasat waited to see if the bartender would give in or not, and she did.

"You just celebrating Empire Day, or what? Did you get a job or something? Win a bet?" She narrowed her eyes, as she poured up the drink. "Or did you lose a bet?"

There was a sidelong smile at the bartender that on the surface looked sincere, but Zeb sensed the deeper sarcasm there. "Yeah, that's it. Celebrating Empire Day."

"Uh huh. Well, that's your last one." She set it down in front of him. "You can order something else, but no more Reactor Cores. At five or six of them, a being either starts seeing shit or dies, and I don't think I want to have to call the bouncer to escort you out. You look like you might give him a run for his money." She turned on her heel and went to the other end of the bar to serve other patrons.

"Yes, ma'am," The brown haired stranger gave a salute. He caught Zeb's eye and gave him a nod, then shook his head. "Empire Day. Kriffing holdiay," he muttered, more to himself, but voice thick with disgust and loud enough that Zeb heard it.

"I'll second that." Zeb nodded, scanning the bar again. Hera was still at her table, idly scrolling through a datapad as she waited for the contact. Zeb took another sip of his Ebla, taking it easy on the alcohol so he could remain sharp. Ten minutes later a man entered the bar, making his way toward Hera after stopping at the bar to get a drink. He had definitely been casing the place out before approaching the green-skinned Twi-lek. As they'd planned, Hera activated her com and Zeb listened in to the conversation through an ear piece.

It was a regular job. Jaquar had a load of hyperdrive computers of dubious origin headed toward Ylix and Vizago had recommended them for transport. If they could handle it, they would get half their money ahead of delivery and the rest of it upon receipt of the computers on Ylix. Hera agreed to price and then began to ask details. They would deliver the computer units at 1200 hours tonight. Hera told him which bay they were in, and then Jaquar left, trying to keep their contact to a minimum.

When done, Hera made her way over to Zeb at the bar. "So you heard?" She asked him, sliding into a seat.

"Got it. Earpiece works like a charm, too." Zeb said.

Hera took a drink from her glass of green Twi'lek liquor. "Good. Maybe Ezra can whip up another one from those tech parts he's always collecting."

"He takes after you. You and Chopper." Zeb noticed that the man on the other side of the bar had looked up. He was staring hard at them, but then something across the room garnered his attention. The Lasat looked over his shoulder and noticed the three troopers who had entered the bar and were heading over their way.

"Barkeeper." One of them spoke, his voice modulated under the helmet. The other two just stood behind, holding blaster rifles.

"Yes?" The silver-haired woman appeared from the other end of the bar.

"We're looking for several pick-pocketing suspects." He handed her a datapad with their images.

"I haven't seen any of these people." The silver-haired woman said, scrolling through the information. "But if I do, I'll call you first."

"Very well. The broadcast of Empire Day activities on your holoscreen is mandatory." The trooper gestured to the holoscreen.

"Yes, certainly." She began to change the channel of the mounted screens. A retrospective of the Empire was on...the same old propaganda, Zeb thought.

One of the troopers turned and caught sight of the expression on the stranger's face across the bar. The very inebriated dark-haired man was, very obviously, staring them down. "You!" The trooper pointed. "What's your problem, citizen?"

"Oh, I've got a lot of problems. Want me to list 'em for you?" The stranger got up, ready for a confrontation. His eyes were dark with rage as he squared off with the trooper, his hand barely brushing the grip of his DL-18. Zeb knew the look in the stranger's eye because he'd had it himself before. It was the look of a man who no longer cared; he was going to do whatever he was going to do and kriff the consequences. It was the look of a man with a deathwish.

Before either could pull a weapon, Zeb quickly inserted himself between them. "Somebody could get hurt." He whispered under his breath, meeting the human's eyes. Then he turned quickly to the trooper, slinging an arm around the stranger next to him and appearing like friends. "Hey, look," he said to the trooper. This guy doesn't mean any harm. He's just had a bit too much tonight, and he's a bit of a laserbrain, if you know what I mean. Celebrating Empire Day and had a little too much, you know."

The stormrtrooper stared them down through his black, emotionless, plastoid eyes. "Keep him under wraps. I don't wanna see him again tonight. I see him again, and you both go to the detention center."

"You got it." Zeb's face darkened after the trooper turned. It was pretty hard to pretend to be helpful to those bastards when all he wanted to do was feel the buckethead's nose crunch under his fist. Good thing about bucketheads, he thought, was there were always more of them, so he hadn't necessarily missed his chance, only deferred it a little.

The Lasat turned to the stranger, but the man's eyes were focused on Hera, who had stood up, ready to assist if needed. It appeared that Hera recognized him. "I know you," she said softly, eyes narrowing. Where had they met? Had he been a client? No...she didn't think so. She'd been small when they had known each other.

He turned his face away quickly. "Nope. Sorry." The stranger drank off the rest of the Reactor Core he'd ordered and set the drink down with a slightly shaky hand. Then he pulled a few credits and threw them on the counter.

He turned away, hiding his face and fumbling for his knapsack hanging on the back of the chair. Something was definitely wrong, Zeb thought. Then, apparently he leaned too far and swayed; Hera grabbed his arm to steady him. She was thinking furiously, trying to remember where she'd seen the stunning combination of brown hair and blue-green eyes before. "I do know you..."

"You're wrong. I've just got one of those faces. Thanks for the help, Lasat." He muttered, a distinct slur in his voice, as he pulled his arm away from her and headed for the exit.

Hera followed him, not so close that she was on his heels out the door, but enough not to lose him. As the stranger walked, Reactor Core number five began to do its work. He was weaving through the crowds, but not all of it was to make his way through the tight knots of people. Hera and Zeb lost him for a minute, then they saw the edge of the long coat he was wearing vanish into an alleyway.

They turned in and found him leaning against the wall, near some garbage receptacles, retching. Obviously, the excessive alcohol had gotten him sick, but it wasn't enough to get rid his body of the potent Spice Liquor and Blue Tonic. He wiped at his mouth with the back of one hand, moved away and slid down the wall to sit with his knees against his chest, eyes squeezed closed.

Hera motioned to Zeb. "Keep an eye out."

"One eye out and the other on you." Zeb didn't exactly trust this situation and he would rather be back on the Ghost, getting the shipment, but he had Hera's back, no matter what. He'd been on Hera's crew longer than anyone else, except Chopper, and he owed the Twi'lek more than he could ever repay. After Lasan, he'd been like the brown-haired stranger, ready to fight anyone and everyone, as well as trying to drink himself into a coma. She'd given him some purpose in life again, and for that, he was as devoted a protector as he'd ever been to the Lasat royal family. And he was determined that he would not fail her.

Hera clapped him on the shoulder, then slowly made her way over to the stranger, who was not a stranger anymore. She knelt beside him, examining his features. Suddenly, it came to her and she almost gasped aloud. "Caleb-"

His eyes shot open and he looked up at her in terror and disbelief at his old name, spoken out loud. It seemed to cause him actual physical pain. "No...Not anymore."

So he **was** the Jedi padawan she'd met when she was younger. She remembered the inner strength and confidence she'd sensed in him back then. Whatever had befallen him since their meeting had to have been terrible. How had he survived the Emperor's Jedi purge? How had he survived since then? Of course he would have had to change his name; the authorities would be looking for Caleb Dume. "I understand." She took his hand squeezing it to punctuate her words. "What do I call you?"

"Kanan. Kanan Jarrus." He met her gaze, looking at her wonderingly. "I didn't believe it was really you." He trailed off and let his head fall back against the wall. His eyes tracked the empty air as if watching something she couldn't see, then he looked around him uneasily. "They're coming for all of us," he muttered, shaking his head. Whether it was what he had been drinking or something else that was causing him to see things, she couldn't tell. He pulled away from her and began to fumble at two metallic pieces of tech, attached to his belt, not taking his eyes away from whatever it was he thought he was watching warily.

She looked around her, but there was no one there, except for Zeb, who would watch the crowd, then turn to check on them. "Kanan," when she spoke, his eyes snapped back to her, "let us help you get back home." Hera said softly. She gathered his hands in her own; his fingers were so cold that she wrapped her hands around them. When she spoke about home, he looked lost.

He shook his head. "Home? There's no home. There can't be home for someone like me." He tried to fix his gaze upon her, but his eyes gradually slid beyond, now distracted by the shadows the crowd cast into the alley.

She had felt her heart lurch when he spoke. "That's okay. My ship is nearby. You can rest and you'll be safe there. Help me, Zeb."

The big Lasat stalked over and Kanan startled when Zeb put a hand on his arm. "Easy there. Didn't mean to scare you…Let's get you up." The Lasat glanced to Hera. "He drank five Reactor Cores, according to the bartender. It's amazing that he can even have a coherent conversation. Most beings climb the walls at about three. Spice liquor." He made a face. The stuff was poison.

"Do we need to get him to a med center?" Hera raised an eyebrow.

"No." Kanan shook his head. "No med centers." He was trying to pull away from them now, surprisingly strong.

"Okay, it's okay. No med centers. We'll just take you to the ship. You can rest there, okay?" Hera caught his eyes and he seemed to calm down under her gaze. "Let's go."

They made their way to the spaceport and walked Kanan up the ramp of the ship. Getting him up the ladder was problematic, but Zeb half-carried and half-pushed him up the ladder and they made it.

Ezra was watching a holovid, working on another earpiece like the one he'd built for Zeb, but he shut it off as soon as he heard them come up the ramp. He stood in the hallway, eyes wide as they carried the new arrival to the spare quarters beside Hera's. The poor guy looked hardly conscious; his eyes were almost closed and his long brown hair had partially come loose from its tail where it fell into his face.

"Ezra, can you grab a blanket?" Hera called. The room they were taking the stranger to was pretty empty, so Ezra found the extra blanket and brought it. Maybe the guy was injured in some way, and Hera had decided to help. She was always looking out for people who needed help.

"Where did you find this guy?" He asked, handing Hera the extra blanket. "Who is he?"

"He's someone I met a long time ago. On Ryloth. He's . . ." Hera hesitated with how much she should say. She trusted their little team implicitly, but it wasn't her place to tell anyone that Caleb—no Kanan-was a Jedi. "He needs our help, Ezra. We'll let him sleep it off here tonight, and leave in the morning with the shipment. It's going to be dropped off here at 1200."

Ezra nodded. "You knew him when you were a kid?" It was hard to imagine Hera as a kid, and he had to think about it for a moment. They'd saved a few Twi'leks in a mission for Fulcrum about six months ago and one of them had been a little girl. She'd been cute, with lavender skin and green eyes. He was sure Hera had looked something like that.

"That's when I met him, yes."

"How well do you know him?" Ezra examined the seemingly unconscious figure on the bed. The guy didn't look like a gangster or a killer, but he was well aware from his own time on the street that looks meant nothing. "Seems like he knows his way around that blaster." He gestured toward the weapon

Hera smiled at the protectiveness of her crew. Zeb and Ezra did a good job watching out for her, but it was unnecessary most of the time. She removed his blaster from its well-worn holster and placed it next to his bag on the floor. "Don't worry, Ezra. I'm fairly sure that Kanan is the last person we have to worry about, for reasons I can't discuss right now." Hera took the blanket and placed it over the inert form on the bed. Kanan's face seemed much more relaxed now, and again she could see the ghost of who he had been, hiding beneath his features. It seemed a lifetime since they'd met.

Slowly his eyes opened, and he fixed on her, but then again seemed to look right through her at something else. "The light...your light...it's still as bright as it was that day," he murmured.

Her forehead crinkled in confusion. "Shh. Just sleep. You're safe here tonight."

He sighed in reply and gave in, burying his face against the pillow in sleep.

Hera smoothed his hair back gently, then looked up at Zeb and Ezra as she stood up. "Okay, let's let him sleep and get that shipment in. Then we'll hit the bed for a couple of hours and leave in the morning."

"You got it." Zeb said, sensing that Hera wasn't ready for more discussion about their new arrival right now. "C'mon kid. Let's make some room in the cargo bay."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks so much for all your comments and reviews. Getting them makes the work worth it, for sure. This is a mega chapter! I could have split it up, but I had a lot to do here, so it all goes together pretty well. Please enjoy (and comment!)

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 **3\. A Bad Dream and a Sudden Departure**

Hera awoke quickly when she saw Ezra standing in the doorway of her room, his blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He was watching her; even in the near darkness it seemed she could see how blue his eyes were along with the shine of tears on his cheeks. He looked so young and afraid, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let go. "I'm sorry. A-another b...bad...dream," he said softly.

"It's okay, Ezra." She got up and came to him. Without words, he threw his arms around her and cried silently against her shirt. He always cried silently, and somehow that made her sad for all the things he'd been through before she and Zeb had rescued him. "I'm sorry, love." She murmured into his hair as her hand rubbed small circles on his back.

This wasn't the first time she'd had to comfort him after a nightmare, and she never minded it. Ezra had been with them for just over a year. The night of the first Empire Day he'd been with them had been particularly horrible for the teen; Ezra had awoken screaming and it had taken both her and Zeb to bring him out of the night terrors. They'd spent the night with him, taking turns holding him so that he could find a little peace. She'd told Ezra he could always come to her, and he usually did. She held him until she felt his desire to pull away. "Want some tea?"

He gave her a small nod. She led him into the kitchen, her arm around him. "Sit here. I'll be back in a second, okay?"

He nodded silently again, scrubbing the tears away with the heels of his hands. Then he sank down into the booth and pulled his blanket around him.

She brought over the cups and they sat, Ezra snugged up against Hera, who absently smoothed down his ruffled hair. The silence was broken only by small sips of the hot liquid. It was a Twi-lek tea that contained soothing herbs, and she knew that just being together and engaging in the little ritual would quiet his mind and help him go back to sleep.

After a long time, she felt his tension ease and his body was more relaxed against her side. "Was it your parents this time or..." she asked softly.

"No. The Imperial." Ezra murmured into his cup.

Those were the worst for him. In response, she squeezed him more tightly. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," he whispered. They stayed there for a while, absorbing the quiet and each other's company. Finally, she could see his eyes were growing heavy. He'd rested his head against her shoulder as well. "Sleepy again?" She asked.

He nodded. "Sorry for waking you."

"That's never a problem, love." She walked with him over to his quarters next to Zeb's, watched him climb back into bed, and left the lights on, but low. She watched him for long moments as he settled himself against the pillow. "Sleep well Ezra," she murmured, stepping back and allowing the door to swish shut.

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Kanan awoke from his own uneasy, nightmare-filled sleep when the force of the ship banking nearly spilled him into the floor. He steadied himself with one foot on the floor and a hand on the upper bunk, trying to ignore the pounding in his head. Looking around him, he saw only unfamiliar quarters. His knapsack was on the floor near him and his blaster skittered across the floor as the ship took another sharp turn. There was a slight shimmering to his sight and he knew he wasn't quite sober yet from the Spice Liquor. Was he imagining this? Did he just dream up Hera from his restless past? If so, where was he? He looked around him and tried to focus, but the sheen of intoxication was still there.

He was quite familiar with drinking to excess, and was familiar with the effects of spice liquor on someone who had Force abilities. After all, he'd been a bartender, and had imbibed enough of the potent spirit to know. He'd worked in at least eight bars, and in none of them had he even seen anyone drink more than two Reactor Cores. Most places wouldn't serve more than three. He'd had what...four? Five? His stomach took a lurch as the ship seemed to pulse, then roll.

Slowly, he pieced the night back together...or at least as much of it as he could. While under the influence of the spice liquor, Kanan had caught the wisps of the Lasat's thoughts. The big guy had guessed that Kanan had a deathwish and it was true. The former Jedi hadn't counted on a hero coming to his rescue—he hadn't thought there were any such things anymore. But there he'd been, the big purple fuzzball putting himself in between Kanan and the troopers. If not for that, Kanan knew be dead right now. The troopers would have come for him until he could no longer hold them all off.

Oh he hadn't made any final decisions about his life when he'd gone in the place; his whole thought process was to get ripped as quickly and completely as possible. Empire Day meant he'd not just wanted to get drunk; he'd wanted obliteration. Memories were too painful and without the dulling effects of alcohol, he knew he'd never get through the day sane.

About the second Reactor Core, he'd had the first inklings of a plan; by the third, he'd made the decision to take as many troopers with him that he could. By the fourth, he'd sensed the troopers before they'd even entered the bar.

Then the stupid furball, selflessly putting himself in harm's way to save **him** , Kanan Jarrus, the biggest coward in the Outer Rim. After the Lasat had saved him, Hera must have brought him back to her ship. He shook his head, laughing bitterly. The universe had left him alone all this time, then, at the moment he'd decided to go base-delta-zero, it had thrown two unexpected saviors at him. He was knocked from his thoughts as the ship seemed to ascend at a sharp angle, and he heard his blaster skitter across the floor again. That convinced him that this was not a side-effect of the alcohol. The ship **was** hurtling through the atmosphere.

Another lurch and he was up and moving, retrieving his blaster from the floor and seating it in his holster. Then he made his way to the door, opened it, and heard shouting through the comms. Another left bank. He quickly figured out where the front of the ship was when a familiar orange and white astromech sped past him, warbling in binary and paying him absolutely no attention. He felt and heard a boom, the ship shaking as they took a hit.

He ran to the door, still a bit groggy from the liquor's lasting effects. Hera was alone up front, and he could hear the internal comm chatter.

"Got one," came the gravelly voice of the Lasat.

"Yeah, but you're still three behind from last time," another voice, this one a younger male, replied.

His force-senses were heightened and not entirely under his control. He could feel the Lasat above him, spoiling for battle. The kid was in the rear of the ship, a little scared but aware that he had trained for this and he was capable. He could feel Hera's presence in the cockpit. She was controlling her emotions, not letting her fears overwhelm her. Her Force-signature was beautiful, and he would have happily stood there basking in it until they were blown to bits, but another rumble as the ship took a direct hit snapped him out of it. He closed his eyes a minute, gathered the Force inside of him to clear his mind, then made his way into the cockpit.

"What do you need me to do?" He asked Hera, sliding into the co-pilot's seat and glancing over the controls.

"Kanan..." she didn't even glance at him, her attention riveted on dodging the Imperial TIE fighters in front of her. "If you wanna help get some of those TIEs off our backs, I wouldn't complain. Zeb is in the turret and Ezra's on the aft gun."

Kanan familiarized himself with the controls, then began sighting in the TIEs without any questions. He used his controlled focus to begin firing back at the enemy ships, missing his first two shots. The third blew up a TIE and the _Ghost_ was pelted with the debris as it flew through the space where the ship had just been.

"Good shot, Hera. We've still got three more incoming." The Lasat's voice came over the comms.

"Thanks, but tell that to our passenger. He's handy on the gun, it seems." She did take a second to glance over at Kanan with a wry smile on her lips.

"If he's that good, with the kind of hangover he's should be having, maybe he can join up." There was a whoop over the comms as the other voice chimed in. "Got another one, Zeb!"

"Karabast!"

Hera laughed to herself, but it was quickly stifled when they took a direct hit, and the shields panel blew. "Chopper! I need you to fix the shields or this will be a really short trip!" she called in a warning voice.

The droid, who had apparently rejoined them during the fight, replied that he was on it, waving his manipulators in the air as he went to put out the fire.

Kanan took aim and missed another TIE. "Kriffing sleemo!" He yelled, again tightening his hold on the Force to counteract the inebriation of his body. He had to make these shots. "What did you do to piss them off?"

"Everything, apparently," Hera quipped. "It's a gift." She barrel rolled, soaring above the TIE Kanan had missed. Kanan shot a smile in her direction.

"You sound like my kind of girl, Hera Syndulla." Kanan let out a triple burst of fire and blew the next TIE that flew into his sights. As they ascended, the blue of the sky began to change into the black of space.

"The way you shot those guys down makes me think you might be my kind of guy. Hold on!" She swung around in a tight arc and flew directly at the last two TIEs that had followed them out of the atmosphere. "Zeb, Kanan-here's your chance. Hit something!" She swung from side to side dodging fire, while Zeb and Kanan fired furiously on the two TIEs. The two ships both imploded in balls of fire.

"Jumping to hyperspace." Hera pulled the lever and outside the ship the universe extended into starlines, and they were finally safe from attack.

She turned her chair to look at Kanan as she let out a held breath. "So..." She could hear Zeb climbing down from the turret and Ezra coming down the hall and she looked in that direction pointedly, then back at Kanan.

"Do they know?" He asked simply, finally able to release his tight hold on the Force. Now there was only a faint shimmer around the edges of his vision, and the sensation of not quite being in control of his Force senses had faded. The hangover was getting worse, however. _Just great,_ he thought.

"Only that we met before. That's all."

He nodded quietly. "Thanks."

"No problem. Thanks for the assist." She gestured to the viewport.

Zeb came through the door first, followed by the kid. "Any fight you can jump away from is a good one." He stuck out a paw. "Now we can meet properly. Garazeb Orrelios. This mangy little kit behind me is Ezra Bridger." He ruffled Ezra's dark hair fondly.

Kanan shook Zeb's big paw. "Kanan Jarrus." He eyed all of them and then said, "Ok, so anyone want to fill me in on where we're headed?"

* * *

They all retreated to the living area after leaving Chopper to monitor the ship's progress through hyperspace.

"Yeah, you were not quite yourself, I think, when you stood up and basically told those bucketheads to come get a piece of you." Zeb chuckled. "I think you picked the wrong time to do that, but I gotta admit, I like your style."

Kanan made a pained noise and rubbed at his forehead where a moderate ache had begun to turn into a painful throbbing. After the rush of adrenaline from the combat had worn off, he began to feel the effects of the previous night's events. "Yeah. Empire Day always brings out the best in me," he groaned sarcastically.

"Let me get something for your head," said Hera. She left, and quickly returned with a bottle of medicine and a cup of water.

"Thanks." Kanan swallowed a few capsules, and ran a hand through his loose hair. "I'm sorry you, uh...had to see all that. It was just a really bad day." He could feel his conscience twinge as he lied.

"We've all had 'em." Zeb murmured softly. "So don't worry about it."

Even the kid, Ezra, looked down at Zeb's words. Apparently they were no stranger to trouble with the Empire. He was well aware what had happened on the Lasat's homeworld, and he thought he remembered that Hera had lost her mother on Ryloth when she was a little girl. Had Hera told him that, or had it been Master Billaba? He couldn't remember.

"And anyway," Zeb added, "you helped us with the getaway, so we're even, far as I can see."

Hera chimed in. "Yeah. Sorry about that. Chopper woke us and told us that we'd been made. Imperials were surrounding the Ghost and attempting to board us at the spaceport to search the cargo, so there wasn't much time to warn you and let you slip out the back." The right side of her mouth quirked up in a half-smile.

"I see." Kanan nodded. "Okay. I'm here for the duration. I didn't have any plans anyway. Where are we headed?"

"Ylix." Hera said. "We've got a shipment of hyperspace computers for a contact there."

Kanan raised an eyebrow. "These wouldn't be **Imperial** hyperspace computers, would they?"

Zeb's toothy grin greeted Kanan's question. "Look, we can't be held responsible if the Empire can't keep up with their computers. What do you want us to do?" He held up both hands helplessly.

Kanan shrugged, a half smile on his face. "Hey-no judgment here."

"We can return you to Sirat when the job's over, if you'd like." Hera said. "That will give things time to cool down."

Kanan nodded absently. _So then I can get back to what I was trying to do_. Maybe by then he'd have enough courage to do it himself, instead of the coward's way of suicide by trooper. The kid had asked him something, but he missed it. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"What do you do?" The kid asked, thinking he'd misunderstood the question. "We haul cargo for clients...sometimes cargo the Empire wouldn't approve of. What is it you do? You're pretty good with the laser canon." The kid's question sounded friendly, but Kanan caught the wary look in his eyes as he pointedly glanced at Kanan's blaster.

"Um..." Kanan glanced to Hera briefly, then decided that a version of the truth was best. "Well, besides helping you out in a firefight, I've done a lot of jobs the past few years. Bartender, chef, bodyguard, pilot...um whatever they'll pay me for. I guess I have a wide set of skills."

"How many planets have you been to?" Ezra asked.

"No idea...a lot." Kanan answered. "How many have you been to?"

"Almost twenty." Ezra said. Still the appraising look from the kid.

"Where are you from?" Kanan asked. It was obvious the kid didn't trust him; Kanan could tell by the way the kid seemed to measure and weigh each of Kanan's answers, and the way he eyed Kanan's blaster warily.

"Lothal." Ezra answered. "What about you?"

"Coruscant. I haven't been home in a long time, though, because I'm pretty much out here on my own. The Empire and I don't really get along, so I spend most of my time on the Outer Rim." Kanan felt a wild urge to laugh. If "not getting along" with the Empire wasn't the understatement of the year, he didn't know what was.

"I'd like to go to Coruscant one day." Ezra said. "Lothal was just a lot of grassland and rocks. Pretty boring."

"Coruscant isn't all it's cracked up to be, kid. I'd say stick with Lothal." There it was. He'd finally wrung a smile from the kid. He answered it with one of his own.

"If you've been on the Outer Rim all this time," Zeb said, "it's a wonder we didn't run into you before." As he spoke, the Lasat had to stifle a yawn.

"The Rim's a big place, and well, I'm pretty good at keeping a low profile." Kanan admitted.

"Oh yeah. We know how to do that too," Hera added. There were a few moments of silence, then Zeb stood up and stretched.

"Four or five more hours in hyperspace, right? If it's okay with you, I think me and the kid need to hit the bunk again." Zeb nodded in Ezra's direction. "C'mon kid. When you get up, we'll make some space waffles."

When they were gone, Hera met Kanan's eyes. "I'm a little keyed up," she admitted, "Been a while since we were in a firefight like that."

"Yeah. Me too," he admitted.

"How about I make some caf? We can watch the starlines for a while."

"Caf would be great." He made his way back to the cockpit and settled in the co-pilot's chair. She was back relatively quickly, placing a mug of strong, black caf in his hand, which he thanked her for after taking a grateful sip.

She sat in the pilot's chair, curling her feet underneath her as she tried her own cup. Her green eyes were soft and thoughtful as she took him in, wondering about all that he had been through in the last fifteen years, but not sure how to ask him about it.

He tried not to notice the graceful way her tattooed lekku draped over her shoulders. Her skin glowed in the lowered lighting of the ship's sleep cycle and he could hardly take his eyes from her. "So. How did all this start?" Kanan asked. "Smuggling a load of stolen computers with a Lasat and a kid?" He raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought you would have been fighting along with your father on Ryloth."

Hera shook her head with a rueful smile. "Father and I didn't see eye to eye on very much, so I decided to leave. Of course, you probably could tell that, even back then we never got along."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, your father had kind of a one-track mind when it came to Ryloth. I remember Master Billaba and Master Windu discussing it on their way back to Coruscant."

"Well, I always wanted to fly and that never fit in with Father's plan. I hired out on several different freighters shipping things that the Empire wouldn't approve of, let's just say, and I made enough credits to get my own ship. It was beat up, but Chop and I got it running smoothly. Zeb came along not long after Lasan fell. Then Ezra two years ago. They're a good crew. I trust them with my life."

"I see why. They can really handle themselves in a crisis." He paused a moment, then went on. "What about Ezra? The kid's a little..."

"Suspicious? Yeah, guess so. He's had a tough time." She took another sip of her caf. "He was living on the streets since he was six or seven. His parents were taken prisoner by the Empire, then murdered. We found him after he was kidnapped by an upper-level Imperial—we still don't know why. They were transferring him from a prison facility on Lothal when we—Zeb and I—freed him."

"Poor kid." Kanan couldn't help but thinking about his own life after Order 66. He'd been alone and on the streets before taken in by Kasmir, and he'd been much the same way, suspicious and watchful. Actually, he was still the same way, but he was just better at hiding it. "I understand him more than you think. After everything that happened, I was on my own too..." He trailed off, realizing he'd strayed into an area he never spoke about. Setting his cup on the ship's ledge, he stared out the window, hoping she'd change the subject as the past rose up out of the dark around him.

It was the first time he'd mentioned, however indirectly, the destruction of the Jedi. She placed her hand on his own and he looked up, startled. "I'm so sorry." It must have been like losing your whole family, all at once, she thought. Hera's heart ached trying to imagine what he'd been through. She'd lost her mother at a young age, but to lose everyone...at least she'd had uncles and cousins and aunts to rely on when her father wasn't available, which was often. He'd had no one to turn to.

"Yeah, well..." He shifted uncomfortably under her sympathetic gaze, and looked down at her hand, feeling as if he deserved none of it. "It happened. Everyone else died, and I didn't." Hera watched as the muscles of his jaw tightened.

"That's not your fault." she said, putting her own cup down and turning to him.

He said nothing, just shook his head while avoiding her eyes.

"Was that what last night was about?" she asked gently.

He didn't answer her; she watched as he lowered his head and his hair fell forward, hiding his face. Finally, after long moments, he spoke, voice just above a hard whisper. "My master died and I did nothing. She traded her life for mine and I...let her." She could feel the self-hatred lacing his voice and it tore holes in her heart.

"You were only a kid..." she began, knowing that his words weren't true. They couldn't be. Survivor's guilt was twisting his memory. Plenty of people felt responsible for things that were totally out of the realm of their control.

"You're wasting your time on me, Hera. Spend your energy on the kid. He deserves it a lot more than I do."

"Everyone deserves a friend," she breathed, squeezing his much larger hand in her own.

He laughed bitterly. "Come on, Hera. I'm ex-Jedi. There are no friends for me." He looked up at her, his eyes seeming very bluish-green in the dark shadows.

"You're wrong." It was all she could manage, her thoughts twisting as she tried to think of a way to convince him that he was not to blame for what happened during the Jedi Purge. "You're wrong." She breathed.

"I wish I was, Hera, but I'm not. And I'm not that person you met back then." He squeezed her hand, then brought it up to his lips and kissed it. "But I appreciate your thinking so." Then he left the cockpit. Continuing to listen, she heard the swish of the hatch to his quarters.

She sat back and let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Then, carefully, she brought the hand he'd kissed up to her heart and cradled it in her other palm. She couldn't help but wonder what he would have been had the Jedi Order not been wiped out by Palpatine's clone army. The way he'd slipped into the co-pilot's seat during the battle, asking what he could do to help, didn't speak of cowardice or a lack of bravery. It showed that the warrior he had been was still there. Waiting for something.

Her mind shifted to Fulcrum, the anonymous resistance leader she'd been running missions for. Should she mention this to her contact? If Fulcrum knew that there was a surviving Jedi...then Hera felt for certain she would insist he be recruited, as a possible symbol for the growing rebellion. Although she agreed on most of what Fulcrum was trying to accomplish, and she supported the fight against the Empire wholeheartedly, the thought of the growing rebellion using Kanan like that made her sick. No. She would say nothing to Fulcrum of her knowledge. And she would do whatever she could for Kanan for however long he was with them on the Ghost. Maybe he would find some peace among them, for in some way they were all orphans of a sort, made that way by the Empire.

 _Hera, you can't fix everything._ It was her father's disapproving voice in her mind. As a child, she'd adopted every single stray she came across, including Chopper, and her father had always hated it. _Just because someone or something is broken or discarded doesn't mean you can fix it._

 _Yes, I can,_ she answered the voice in her mind defiantly. _I can fix whatever and whomever I please._

She'd helped Zeb, who had been heartbroken by what he felt was his failure to protect Lasan and its royal family. She'd given Zeb a place, but more importantly, something to protect. She was helping Ezra. His nightmares were less frequent than they had been, and now the kid had a family.

She could help Kanan Jarrus too. If he would let her.

* * *

So, what did you think? Chapter four is in editing and Chapter Five just begun. Hope I've still left you wanting more... *evil grin* You never know when a comment you leave might create a plot bunny...


	4. Chapter 4

Several comments to anonymous reviews I've gotten:

 **CM** : I have to admit, I'm a little confused by your singular comment: " **DIE**." Does that mean you liked it, or that you want this story's author to die? I hope it's the former reason and not the latter. Please clear up this confusion...lol.

 **Random Person** : I went back and clarified the comment about the Outer Rim you mentioned. I guess I was just thinking in the sense of it's a small world, (or it's a small universe in this case), but you had a valid point.

* * *

The reviews have been really great (Except " **DIE,** " that is. I'm a little disconcerted there and hope that CM will enlighten me.). Thanks to all my readers!

OH and one regrettable thing: I had to go back and RETCON something...(groan...). I had to have Ezra having been with Hera and Zeb only a year instead of two years or something won't really fit. Hope you don't mind...I try to avoid RETCON at all costs, but that's the danger of posting a story while it's a work in progress.

As always, hope you like this chapter, my friends. Reviews always get my creativity going, so if you're reading and you haven't reviewed yet, I'd love to hear from you. If you have reviewed, please know I treasure you and your words and would love to hear from you again! I'll try to respond to reviews, but I have a sick kitty, so she will be heading to the vet tomorrow...just give me a day or two to get caught up. Chapter five is almost done...so expect an update soon!

* * *

4\. A Timely Escape

Soon after they settled into the bay at the spaceport on Ylix's surface, Hera left with Ezra to go to the port office to pay their docking fees. Zeb and Kanan stayed behind to connect the ship to the utilities at the spaceport.

"Ok, we're hooked up. Hit the release." Zeb called up to Kanan who balanced easily on the hull.

"Got it."

Zeb stood back and watched Kanan up on the _Ghost's_ hull. The longer Hera's mysterious childhood friend flew with them, the more Zeb was beginning to like the guy. The human knew his way around a ship, and had immediately offered to assist with docking. He didn't mind hard work, obviously. Zeb knew that the guy should be nursing a hell of a hangover, but he seemed much better now than he had been while they were in hyperspace. Maybe the smugglers were right and you became immune to spice liquor after a while. He shook his head, reminding himself never to get in a drinking contest with Kanan. Now betting on a drinking contest with Kanan in it...hmm…. now that was an idea...

"Got some carbon scoring up here." Kanan called down.

"Coming up." Zeb answered.

He and Ezra were well aware there was more to this story about Hera's friend. The two of them had talked about it last night while loading the computers. The TIE fight earlier, along with the stranger's willingness to help, had gone a long way toward soothing their worries. He was starting to feel he knew enough to get a good read on the guy. When Hera was ready to clue them in, he knew she would, so he would trust her judgment for now. Grabbing two cans of cleaner and some rags, he climbed up the ladder and out of the upper hatch. "The kid and I usually do this, but I suppose you and I can take care of it this time."

Kanan nodded, took the supplies and began to work.

"So. How did you meet the Captain?" Zeb asked.

Kanan answered easily as he knelt on the hull and scrubbed at a particularly dark mark. "My family helped hers during the Battle of Ryloth. I only met her that one time."

"You must have been one memorable son of a bitch." Zeb chuckled. "I barely remember all the cousins I met when I was a kit, and they were family."

Kanan shrugged, a smile on his face. "So how did you meet Hera?"

Zeb sprayed his rag with more cleaner, then went back to scrubbing. "Almost same as you the other night. She found me in a bar, about to get shanked by these three Aqualish. I could have taken them if I hadn't been so drunk." He shook his head. "She drew a blaster and they changed their mind about the harmless looking green Twi'lek in the corner. She invited me to join the crew and I stayed."

"So, how did the fight get started?"

"Misunderstanding. At least I think so. I only know a few Aqualish words, so who knows?" He chuckled again. "I either told them have a good night, or to kriff off. I'm not sure."

"I speak a little Aqualish. What did you tell them exactly?" Kanan asked. Zeb repeated the Aqualish he'd spoken, and Kanan began to laugh. "Yeah. It **was** 'kriff off', well the Aqualish version of it anyway."

"Thought it had to be." Zeb said, scratching his beard. "Oh well." Kanan shook his head, still laughing. "What?" The Lasat said.

"I was just thinking how I did the same thing with a Rodian. I was tending bar on this resort planet called Raleesh." Zeb nodded to say he had heard of it. "I got a couple of phrases mixed up and ended up calling his mother a bantha. He didn't take it well and the whole thing went about like your run-in with the Aqualish. I never spoke Rodian that all that well."

Zeb shared a grin with Kanan. "Sounds like we should hit a few bars sometime."

Kanan nodded. "I'm sure we could find some trouble somewhere while we're here."

They continued scrubbing for a while, Zeb telling stories about being a bouncer in a little club on Garel and Kanan sharing a few stories from his time as a bartender on Raleesh and various other planets. As he talked to Zeb, he found out bits and pieces of the Lasat's story. Apparently he had been one of the High Honor Guard of Lasan, defending and protecting the royal family. After the massacre, Zeb had, understandably, hit a rough patch, until Hera found him and brought him on board.

"You know, I had no purpose in my life until Hera and the kid. Seems I can't keep going unless I have someone to protect. If we might have seemed kinda suspicious at first, it's just because we value each other so much. Kinda reminds me of the honor guard, I guess."

Kanan nodded. "Yeah." He really didn't hold it against them at all. In fact, it reminded him of the relationship he'd had with the clone troopers under Master Billaba's command. They had been a tight unit...before everything had gone wrong. He pushed back the thought uneasily as he heard some noise below them.

"Hey! You guys up for something to eat?" Hera called up, holding up a bag of take-out. Ezra was also carrying a smaller bag, standing behind Hera.

"I've got roasted nerf..." Ezra called, shaking his bag back and forth, knowing it was one of Zeb's favorite.

"Are you kidding? Something besides ration packs?" Zeb grinned. "We'll be down in two."

* * *

Hera knew everyone's favorite food. "Ezra helped me to guess on yours," she said, glancing over at Kanan. "But we usually share anyway, so out of four, I figured there had to be something you liked."

Ezra and Kanan both favored spicy foods and they shared spicy bantha rump and Fodu with green fire sauce. Hera had some sort of mynock dish and Zeb something with roasted nerf.

"Hey, how did you know Fodu was my favorite?" Kanan asked Ezra, elbowing him as he grabbed a fork.

"I don't know; I just took a guess." Ezra replied as they measured out a portion of each dish on their plates.

"So what's the plan? Are we gonna unload these computers and get paid?" Zeb asked.

Hera scooped out some of her fragrant mynock onto a plate, then carried it over to the table. "We're supposed to drop off the shipment at a tech warehouse on the other side of the city. Only thing is, if Jaquar **was** compromised by the Empire, they could be waiting on us." She'd obviously been thinking about it for a while.

"Maybe Jaquar wasn't compromised," Zeb said, thoughtfully. "The Empire could have made us for that heist on Garel, for instance."

"What did you do on Garel?" Kanan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Stole some ration crates from the Empire." Ezra answered.

"But all they contained was foodpaste. Fifteen crates of the stuff." Hera said, with a smirk in Zeb's direction. It was clear she had teased Zeb about this before.

"Hey, not my fault. The crates just said 'Imperial Rations.'"

"Yeah, well we practically had to pay Vizago to take them off our hands." Hera shot back, with a half-smile, while Ezra began to laugh.

Kanan thoughtfully speared a piece of bantha as the laughter died down. "Why don't you let me go check the place out first? They won't be looking for me. If everything looks legit, then you can proceed as scheduled."

Hera glanced over at him. "That could work. If you help us, we could give you a cut of the proceeds."

Kanan shook his head. "No need. I already owe you one. It would be my pleasure."

She looked pleased. "Okay, after lunch then. Chopper, gather up all the information you can find on the HoloNet about Narvak Tech. And Kanan, give me your comm so I can link all of us. If you have a problem, we'll swoop in for a pickup before they know what hit them."

As they finished up lunch, Chopper came back with the info on the company. It turned out that Narvak Tech made replacement parts for all sorts of droids and navicomputers. Kanan's plan was to go in looking for a replacement leg for Chopper. While the associates were checking for the leg, Kanan would gather what information he could and be out of there quickly. During the exchange, Kanan accidentally mentioned he didn't expect them to actually have the leg due to Chopper's age. It set the droid off, and he tried to hit Kanan with his shock prod. Kanan's reflexes were too sharp, however, and Chopper missed. He turned and left, grumbling indignantly about the disrespect of humans for superior life forms.

As Zeb and Ezra cleaned up after lunch, Hera walked Kanan to the ramp.

"Okay. You have a pretty good plan, but don't hesitate to call if you need backup. Hit your comm before you go in so we can monitor the situation."

He nodded, pulling his blaster, checking it and then making sure that his lightsaber pieces were secure on his belt. It was hard to believe how good it felt to actually have a goal to accomplish; he was stunned to find he was actually enjoying this. He glanced up at Hera, then gave her one of the first real smiles he'd felt in a long time. "Don't worry. This will be a piece of sweetcake."

"Hope you're right." She said, watching him make for the door to their bay. "Be careful."

* * *

Narvak Tech turned out to be a rather large warehouse with a storefront. Kanan entered and glanced around him. The smell of metal, grease and fuel greeted him, as well as one of the shortest humans he'd ever met. The small man in a greasy jumpsuit climbed up on a platform behind the counter, obviously built to put worker and customer on a more even level. "What can we do for you today?"

Kanan adjusted his wrist comm casually, secretly hitting the button to turn it on in the process, then he walked over and leaned on the counter. "Well, I've got kind of a weird question. See, we have this old astromech...that's got a busted strut. I wanted to see if maybe you had a replacement for him. He's way past the expiry date, but my captain's kind of fond of the old bucket of bolts."

"What's his series number?"

"He's a C1." Kanan glanced around the office as the worker began to pull up specs on a datapad. The office was pretty plain, and there were two doors leading out. One, from what he could see out of the window beside it, was obviously to the warehouse. The other was marked with the name Grael Narvak. He could hear some talking coming from that office, but from what he could see so far, it looked like business as usual in the place.

"Those C-1's can get a little glitchy when they get old," the man muttered. "Sure your Captain don't wanna upgrade?"

"Nah, she's pretty attached to him. Think you might have some old inventory or something? Color doesn't matter, we can paint it."

"Let me check in the warehouse. It might be a minute."

"No problems. I got all day." The short man headed out of one of the warehouse doors, and as Kanan casually glanced that way, he saw a flash of white trooper armor. Before he could react, the other door opened and another human stepped out, followed by an Imperial and two troopers.

Kanan felt a spike of unexpected fear upon seeing the helmets of the troopers; it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. The Force began crashing against him in warning, like a rough sea and the whole world vibrated with alarm bells.

"Are you being helped?" The human, a heavily-built man, asked. The Imperial with the aquiline features just stared at him with flat brown eyes, searching for anything that looked out of place.

Every fiber of Kanan's being was tingling with danger, and he didn't hear the human's words until the man repeated himself. "Oh, yeah. Short guy went to check the warehouse for me." He held his hand up to the approximate height of the worker who had left to find the leg, trying to ignore how he'd broken out in a sweat.

The two troopers were still staring at him impassively, their black plastoid eyes watching him without emotion. He just knew in his mind that if they took off their helmets, he would see the decayed faces of Grey and Styles. His breath caught in his throat. Their cloudy eyes, shrouded with death, would find him, finally, after fifteen years of searching, and they would kill him. _Good soldiers follow orders,_ they would croak in a dead monotone, the same words they'd spoken before they turned traitor and began firing at their commander and her padawan. _Good soldiers follow—_

"Yes, that's Nick. I'm sure he'll find what you need." The big man turned to the Imperial, continuing their conversation of earlier. "I don't know why you don't understand that I had nothing to do with this deal that my . . .associate. . .made. I had no idea about the hyperspace computers being stolen."

"Very well. We'll see what my superior thinks about your answers. If you are lying, he will make you regret every word. Go." The Imperial gestured toward the door. The man, most likely Narvak himself, went into the warehouse followed by the Imperial and then the two masked soldiers. One of the troopers stared at Kanan as he left and it was everything the former Jedi could do not to scream. He looked away, at the door and saw the profile of another Imperial...a Pau'an supervisor dressed in black armor, staring Narvak down in the warehouse.

Kanan went numb with cold as the dark side flooded the room. His force stealth was automatic as he looked away and concentrated on making any Force presence he emitted invisible. _Good soldiers follow orders,_ he thought again, crazily. Blessedly, the door swished closed. He looked down at his hands, which left sweaty marks on the counter and muttered part of the Jedi code to himself. " _Emotion, yet peace_." Getting out of here without arousing suspicion, seemed impossible. He took several deep breaths, and tried to crush his desire to run out of the door in a blind panic. When the warehouse door opened again, he turned his head, expecting to see the Pau'an coming for him, but it was only Nick.

"Uh...sorry fella, but there's no parts for a C1 in our warehouse. You might try Best Tech, on the other side of town. They just don't make these like they used to."

"Okay. Thanks anyway." Kanan turned around and headed for the door. When he was outside, he whispered into the comm: "The mission is a no-go. On my way back." Then he clicked it off. It took every bit of control for him not to run as far away from the place as possible.

* * *

Hera looked up at Zeb and Ezra as Kanan's comm cut out.

She wasn't positive what was going on, but it had sounded like the Imperials were there. "Ok. Let's get ready to go so we can leave when Kanan gets back."

"He sounded a little off at the end." They'd all heard Kanan's distracted murmurs, and some labored breaths before the employee had come back to tell him they didn't have any C1 parts.

 _Good soldiers follow orders_ , he'd said _._ The panicked sound of his whisper still rung in their ears. Hera had no idea what it meant, but it sounded omnious. "I don't know, Zeb. But if those **were** Imperials, then we'd better get ready to go. Won't be long before they start checking the spaceports for us."

"I'll get to it." Zeb left for the ladder to the top hatch so that he could unhook the docking cables.

"Ezra, can you run some systems checks on the weapons in case we have to leave here hot?"

"Sure. Do you think Kanan's ok?" She could sense that he was indeed worried about their guest and it touched her heart.

"I'm sure he's fine," she replied, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder, before he went to carry out her orders.

Hera went to the cockpit to do her pre-flight checklist. When Kanan finally did return, she was sitting in the pilot's chair, throwing orders to Chopper over her shoulder.

"Hera."

She turned to see him standing there as if he had materialized from nowhere. He looked pale and more than a little shaken.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Uh, yeah." He swallowed hard, then went on. "The warehouse was crawling with Imperials. Not just your run-of-the-mill can't-shoot-worth-a-shit bucketheads, but elite troops. Two were high ranking. One was an ISB agent, and the other. . .some sort of Force-sensitive."

Hera's eyes widened. "What?" Her heart began to thump.

"I don't know, but he wasn't a Jedi. The dark side...it was everywhere." Kanan took a seat in the co-pilot's chair, as if his legs would no longer hold him up.

"Do they know we're here?" She asked, reaching out to place a hand on his arm.

"No, but I think they knew you were supposed to be coming. They'll probably wait until your rendezvous time and then lock down the spaceport. We need to go as soon as possible."

She nodded, then reluctantly let his arm go to finish the preflight checklist. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kanan's head sink into his hands. She turned to him. "Kanan?"

He didn't answer, but looked up when Zeb entered the cockpit. "Okay, we can leave as soon as you two want. We're unhooked and ready to fly."

Ezra stepped in as well. "I checked the laser cannons. Everything's operational." His eyes moved to Kanan's face, and he read the worry there. "This is bad, isn't it?"

Hera answered for him. "Not if we can help it. We're outa here. Switching the _Ghost's_ signature now."

Coming on to the planet they had been the _Discovery_ , but leaving they were the ship _Bright Hope_. Fulcrum supplied Hera with plenty of fake aliases for the ship, so she always had a new identity to get them off of a planet. No one stopped them when Hera lifted off from the spaceport and they all breathed a sigh of relief when Hera hit hyperspace.

"Where are we going?" Ezra asked.

"Lothal. We'll lie low a while and I'll try and contact Vizago." Lothal was one of the smuggler's many bases, and if he wasn't there, he was sure to be nearby. Maybe he would take these computers. If not, she had half a mind to dump them on an asteroid somewhere. They had caused enough trouble. Hera glanced to Kanan. "You okay with hanging around longer? I know you might need to get back..."

Kanan shook his head. "I can stay. At least until you off load these navcomputers." He didn't say it, but he didn't want to leave them before he knew if the strange Imperial was following them or not. He was the only one who might sense the Imp's presence before an attack. Had he not been with them, they might not have tried to leave until it was too late.

Also he wasn't sure what had caused him to panic like he had and it troubled him. Could it have been the sudden flood of the dark side he'd felt that caused the terror? Was it the strange Pau'an? He just didn't know.

"Thanks for helping us." Ezra's words snapped him out of his whirling thoughts. The kid's royal blue eyes were looking at him with something like admiration. "You didn't have to, but you did. That makes two times now."

"It was nothing." He brushed it off with a wave of his hand as Ezra followed Zeb out into the common area.

"Pretty amazing." Hera said softly, as she swung her chair around to regard him.

"What?"

"You. Pretty amazing for a friendless ex-Jedi." She was teasing him, he could tell by her smirk. "Maybe there's more Jedi left in there than you thought."

"Maybe." He replied equivocally. "Maybe I just play a really good game of Sabacc."

"Ok, well let's see it then. We've got plenty of time, just let me get the cards..."

* * *

"They are already gone, Agent Siegart." The Pau'an looked up at the ISB agent with emotionless golden eyes. It was the rendezvous time and their prey had still not shown. No matter. They would eventually make a mistake; he was a patient being.

"Are you sure that these smugglers are the same rebels that took the Force-sensitive child?" Many in the Empire's upper echelons didn't believe in the Force, thinking it nothing more than a hokey religion that employed parlor tricks. Siegart did not fall into that category. He'd seen the Grand Inquisitor's power for himself and had a healthy respect for what he could do. Anyone who didn't was a fool.

The Pau'an smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. "How many Twi'leks can there be running with a Lasat and a human boy in the Outer Rim? They've been very careful up until now, and that will be their doom."

"Perhaps they will try and sell the navcomputers themselves." Siegart offered.

"It is possible, but the computers are immaterial. We will return to Lothal. The ones that took the Bridger boy will return there eventually because it is familiar to them. We will wait for the Twi'lek and Lasat to show themselves, then we will retrieve the boy. He will serve the Emperor well as one of the Inquisitorius."

"And if he will not, Grand Inquisitor?"

"Then he will die like all of the others."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Alright my constant readers...I slaved over this for you. Seriously. Did you notice how long it took for this chapter to be posted? It was a PAIN, but I think I finally got it right for you. Please give me some reviews since I worked so hard (LOL-I'm shameless, I know...)**

 **Seriously, though, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. It even has a flashback to Caleb's days with Depa. I love them together.**

 **One other matter: after much searching of Wookiepedia, I could NOT find how people in Star Wars wash clothes, so the "clothes fresher" is of my own invention. Just go with it...**

 **Thanks for reading!**

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5\. The Force Takes  
Care of Its Children

 **Then**

The Coruscanti sun was hot, even in the coolness of the Jedi-temple garden. He and his master had the place to themselves for now, almost exclusively now that many Jedi were off fighting against the Separatists. They were due to leave themselves in the next few days.

He'd seen Master Yoda walk through earlier...the little being had given him a wink and a nod as the Padawan's attention wandered from his master's teaching for a moment. Now, however, he was laser focused on her instruction. Pleasing her meant a lot to him, and he was trying very hard to be the Padawan that the great Depa Billaba deserved. Getting shot at Kardoa hadn't been the best first step to that, so he was trying to make up for it; however, he was still a little stiff from his newly-healed wounds, so his forms were a bit rough.

"Caleb. Watch your back foot. You are out of position." She eyed him critically as he moved through the katas of form three. He corrected his stance and continued moving through each pose with practiced care.

"Master, I know that a Jedi must learn all the forms and be proficient in them. Is there a certain form that is better than the others?" She didn't answer at first, but simply stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm, pushing and realigning his lightsaber.

"Like this. Keep the saber close to the body at all times. Run through it again," she suggested, thinking of the most proper way to answer his question. It was something Caleb had learned about Master Billaba. While she was a woman of some humor, she never spoke without considering her words deeply. "Each Jedi favors a certain form, I've observed, although we learn them all. Certainly it is advantageous to learn all because then you are equipped for any situation; however, I believe it is the way of things to naturally lean toward one form more than others. For myself, I have always favored the way of the Mynock. One may not always have the advantage of brute strength, and so must rely on ability and cunning, which one will always have."

"Yes, Master." He murmured in response. When he ended his movements, he disengaged his saber and waited to see what her instructions were.

"Very good." She gestured to the ground, and they sat on the paving stones around which grew beds of fantastic flowers from all the different Jedi homeworlds. Near them was a bed of dusky roses, the stems drooping with the weight of the heavy, fragrant blooms. He knew that these were from his Master's world, Chalacta, because she liked them so much she often cut the flowers and brought them into her quarters.

She took a deep breath, eyes closed. "Tell me what you feel, Padawan."

"I feel...worried." He admitted softly, casting his eyes down to the paving stones and running his fingers along an irregularly shaped edge. Its surface was worn smooth by the footsteps of the interminable number of Jedi who had walked or practiced here. Would he be able to live up to their legacy? Would he be worthy to be a Padawan of Master Billaba, a member of the Jedi Council? His anxiety bloomed full force as he glanced up at her.

He could feel her concern across the Master-Padawan bond, the bond that had seemed to be there ever since the first time he'd seen her in the bacta tank. Her deep brown eyes opened and focused on him. "Caleb, please explain further." She urged.

He shifted uncomfortably, eyes skating away from her nervously as he raked a hand through his short brown hair. "I am worried...that I may disappoint you. That last battle didn't go so well. I want to be worthy of being your Padawan."

The warm rush of affection came across their bond with such fierceness that he was startled and looked up. Her hand brushed his cheek, then lit on his shoulder. "It might surprise you to know that I also, wondered whether I was worthy to take on the great responsibility of a Padawan, but then I remembered that the Force does not make mistakes. We are exactly where we are meant to be. Do you not feel it?"

Caleb closed his eyes and reached for the Force, and it was exactly as she had said. "Let the Force comfort your worries and ease your mind, Padawan. The Force takes care of its children," she murmured. He could feel from the relaxed tone of her voice that she was connecting with the Force, allowing it to flow through and around her. He held onto the Force as well-taking a deep breath of the flower fragrance around them and feeling his worries ease as the ocean of light embraced him.

 **Now**

As the memory faded around him, Kanan wiped the steam from the mirror in the fresher and stared into his own eyes as if expecting to see the eager young kid he had been. When thinking about his younger self, sometimes it was as if he were remembering the actions of a stranger—so completely had he tried to sever the connections between Kanan Jarrus and Caleb Dume. But then a memory would overwhelm him so clear that it felt as if it were only yesterday that he was a youngling at the temple. He could not blame Master Billaba for not knowing what was to come back then. Only a few months later, after the memory he'd just relived, she had been murdered on Kaller, and neither one had seen it coming. Oh, the Force had warned them both, but not so they could do anything about it. As a result, he had a hard time believing that the Force cared about anything, least of all him. It was like a force of nature, impartial and objective-like the movement of the stars or the pull of gravity. Just there to be used, or left alone.

He shook his head and grabbed the brush from his bag that he had brought with him. Then he dragged it though his towel-damp hair before tying it in a nerf-tail. He tried to think of better things, knowing if he indulged the memories too long...bad things would happen. On the ride through hyperspace, he and Hera had played a few games of Sabacc, which ended in two wins for each of them. A draw. She was a brilliant player, easily anticipating his next moves. In fact, her use of strategy had forced him to play more dangerously to try and outwit her. _You had to win_ b _ecause you wanted to impress her,_ he told himself. The truth was the woman had caught his attention...hell, she absolutely fascinated him. All of the women in his past had been beautiful. But looks were all they had going for them, and with the amount of attention he wanted to put into a relationship (absolutely none), they'd been perfect. But he'd never, ever met anyone like Hera. Maybe it was just that she was the one person in the whole universe who knew his past, and therefore one of the only people he felt he could trust.

They had arrived at Lothal around the time for the evening meal, berthing the ship in the grasslands outside of Capital City on Kanan's suggestion. While they ate together, even Ezra had been talkative—more so than ever before. It seemed that Hera was right and he'd just needed a little extra time to warm up.

He exited the fresher, wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and black pants, and carrying his other set of clothes. Zeb was watching the HoloNet, flipping from feed to feed, his feet propped on a chair as he sat back in the bench seat next to Ezra. "There's nothing on the 'Net about the stolen computers. You'd think if the Empire was so keen on gettin' them back, they'd at least put it on the news." The Lasat had changed out of his armor as well and looked different without it. Kanan's own armor pieces had been left in his room along with his blaster. It felt strange to be able to be that at ease here.

"Maybe they're embarrassed to admit they lost them," he answered Zeb, heading to his room to toss his worn clothes and knapsack in there.

"Wait. Give me these." Hera, coming down the hall, grabbed his clothes. He looked at her, surprised. "I'll clean them for you," she remarked. "I see that you traveled light, and I know you don't know where the clothes fresher is. But don't think I'm your laundry girl," she raised an eyebrow as she walked to the back of the ship where, apparently, the clothes fresher was.

Zeb and Ezra were stunned. "She's doing your laundry?" Zeb asked, disbelieving.

"Wow." Ezra murmured. "She never does that for anyone."

Kanan returned, taking a seat on the other side of Ezra. "Guess I just have the touch," he quipped, putting his feet up in a chair like Zeb.

"I have clothes whitener back here that I can spray your sweater with if you want to keep talking," Hera called, showing that she'd been listening. "Or maybe you have another change of clothes in your bag and you don't need to see these again, in which case I can just have them spaced."

"Sorry...no, no….just a joke…." Kanan called back sheepishly, eyeing Ezra and Zeb next to him.

"Uh-huh. Thought so," was the reply.

Ezra and Zeb laughed, and after a moment, Kanan joined them.

"What are you working on?" Kanan looked down into the box of parts that sat next to Ezra.

"The ear transmitter/receiver. Here's the first one I made." He showed it to Kanan, who gave it a once over.

"This is good work." He handed it back to Ezra. The design was simple, but effective. "Did you just figure it out on your own or did you read up on it?"

"I just sort of figure it out on my own." He gestured to the box of parts that seemed, at first, as if they didn't go together at all. Kanan looked down into it and saw stabilizing rings, wires, energy modulation circuits and several platinum power cells as well as tube-like pieces of metal. Slowly in his mind, the pieces began to assemble themselves. Almost everything in this box could be some sort of lightsaber part. He blinked several times, as if it would clear the idea from his mind. Then he began moving aside parts to see what was underneath. More insulators, vortex rings and bits of metal different sizes and shapes, many cylindrical. Kanan felt a cool chill run down his spine.

"Wh..where did you c-collect all this stuff?" Kanan asked, lifting his eyes to Ezra who pushed his too-long hair out of his eyes with a grease smeared hand, leaving a mark on his forehead.

"Everywhere," he said. "Sometimes I see a part and buy it, because I might need it later. Sometimes find them. Sometimes I go out looking for a part for a project I'm working on. Like those insulators are left over from Chop's rocket booster rebuild. The wire was left over when we had to rewire the lighting in Zeb's room."

Kanan scanned the box again, and let out a slight sigh of relief. The box had just **seemed** to be exclusively full of lightsaber parts. Now that he looked, he could see a few hyperdrive computer circuits, various nuts and bolts and some battery packs. Still, there was a lot of tech in there that one could use to. . . no...he was thinking with the information from his other life. Reminding himself to stop it, he shook his head and saw that Ezra was looking at him strangely.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking you could rebuild the whole _Ghost_ using just what's in this crate," Kanan said, forcing a smile to his face.

"Hera's taught me a lot." Ezra beamed with pride. "One day she said I might even know as much about the _Ghost's_ systems as Chopper does."

"Let me help you build another one of those ear pieces." Kanan said. "You can show me how."

The two of them spent the rest of the evening building two more earpieces like the first one. Hera and Zeb played a game of Horansi, then the Twi'lek went off to try and contact Vizago about the shipment. Ezra had gone to find a needed tool in the engine room. When she came back, she sat down with a frustrated sigh. "Well,Vizago's not answering his comm. Maybe they got him too. I think I'm gonna find the nearest asteroid field and space this shipment."

Kanan was lost in thought, but then he spoke. "I just can't figure it. Any idea why an ISB agent and a high-ranking Imperial would be after all of you? I get that you're a thorn in their side, but it just doesn't seem like smuggling some computers and swiping some rations would be enough to cause this kind of attention."

For a second Kanan wondered if it was because they somehow knew he was traveling with Hera, but that just wasn't possible. He and Hera had met by sheer accident. Today, he'd been one room away from the Pau'an and been eye to eye with the ISB agent, and they had done nothing. Still, a Force-sensitive Imperial would have only one job to do. Hunt Jedi. Hera and Zeb certainly weren't Jedi, and Ezra was just a kid.

Hera shook her head. "There's nothing we've done lately that would have attracted this kind of attention. Actually, we've been laying kind of low." She rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

"Ezra," Zeb said suddenly, glancing to Hera and raising an eyebrow. "Could they be after Ezra? I know that Imp we stole him from threw everything he had at us when we slipped through their fingers. We barely made it out of there."

Kanan's questioning gaze turned to Hera. "Maybe," she said. "Kanan, I told you that we rescued Ezra from the Empire, but there's a little more to the story..."

"Okay. So what is the story?"

"The thing is we really don't know everything. Ezra's parents were protesting against the Empire with holonet broadcasts until they were arrested. As far as Ezra or we know, they were executed. Ezra escaped."

"He told us that he hid in a secret room of their house when he was only six or seven." Zeb added.

"He lived on the streets until a year ago. Then he was taken prisoner. That's all we know except..." she trailed off, unsure how to say the next bit.

"Those sleemos hurt him," Zeb growled. "When we got him, his back was shredded. Someone had tried to beat the kit to death with a fire whip." The Lasat growled again, low in his chest as he looked away, struggling to get himself under control. He and Hera had been headed back to the _Ghost_ , after swiping a few shield generators for Fulcrum when they saw a trooper dragging a silent Ezra down the hall. Zeb didn't know how the kid wasn't screaming from his wounds. The blood from the boy's back had left a trail behind them that he could still see in his mind. The Lasat had immediately gone for the kid and killed the trooper dragging him. He'd been blindfolded and cuffed-As if the poor kid could do anything to fight back. The Lasat's emotions rose and spilled over, so he began to pace to burn off the anger.

"Kriff," Kanan swore. He glanced over to Hera and saw her eyes sheened with tears as well.

"He was traumatized. So you see, we really couldn't ask him very much about why they took him, and he never talks about it," she said. "His nightmares get worse if you do..." She shook her head.

"If they're back for Ezra, they will have to come through me first." Zeb had been pacing, but he stopped at the wall and slammed his fist against it so hard he busted his knuckles. He hardly felt it, even though it left a bloody mark and dent on the wall.

Kanan got up and went to the Lasat, putting a hand on his shoulder. Zeb had put his forehead against the wall and his eyes were squeezed shut. "We'll figure this out," Kanan said softly, floundering for the right thing to say to fix this. "They will NOT get Ezra." What was he saying? That he was all in for this? He would let them down. He wasn't a Jedi anymore. He wasn't...anything anymore. But how could he let Hera and Zeb deal with this threat alone? How could he leave this kid vulnerable? The answer was that he couldn't. He simply could not walk away from this. He felt the Force trying to tell him something, but it was like listening to a conversation through a door. With all his conflicting feelings, things weren't quiet enough to hear.

"Hey, I found the power tester...uh..." Ezra entered the room and stopped cold, sensing the heavy mood immediately. "Hey, guys...what did I miss?"

Kanan could still feel the muffled noise of the Force talking to him, like a holovid on mute. He turned to look at Ezra, everything moving in slow motion.

"It's okay...we're okay," Hera said softly, sensing the teen's trepidation. Ezra felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Whatever had just happened was not good, and the way everyone was looking at him made him think it was something he'd done, although he couldn't think of anything. He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.

Zeb turned and met his eyes and Ezra saw such sadness there, that he immediately made his way to the big Lasat. "What is it? If I did something wrong, I'm really sorry."

"No, Ezra. It's nothing you did, kit." Zeb enveloped Ezra in a bear hug, squeezing the air out of him.

By this point, the Force was practically shouting at Kanan. The former Jedi closed his eyes for a moment, trying to listen to a voice that he'd spent years trying to ignore. Hera began to ask a question of him, but he held up a hand, telling her to wait a moment. Reaching for the Force this time was unexpectedly difficult. Like when you tried to remember something so much you forgot what you were trying to remember. Every time he'd needed to use the Force, even just a little to survive over the past fifteen years, he'd barely even opened up a path for the light, and he'd certainly never made himself fully available to it.

But now, things were different. And the way the Force was pushing at him, he knew this was important. When he opened himself up to the entirety of the Force, it flooded him with a warmth that washed away every negative thought. He realized how wrong he'd been to think that that the Force was neutral and cared nothing for the living beings that it composed. It was there to guide him and it wanted him to **pay** **attention** **NOW! NOW! NOW!** And then, when he finally turned his head again to look at Ezra, he saw the fullness of the kid's Force-signature glowing like a star.

It all made sense. "You..." He whispered, taking a step toward the boy. "You are strong with the Force. I can see it." The Force had been trying to show him in so many ways, but he'd been blind, up until now.

"No." Ezra shook his head, a look of panic on his face. He backed up against the big Lasat. "No..."

For a moment, Kanan couldn't absorb anything but the momentous fact that Ezra was Force sensitive. It all made sense. That was the reason the Empire was after Ezra and the crew. Of course the Empire would want him...would want all Force-sensitive children because of the threat they represented. Of course, the Pau'an wanted this kid back. He wanted his prize back to warp and twist him to the dark side—the very idea made Kanan's stomach flip and lurch. Kanan had heard murmurs of such abductions happening during his travels around the Rim, but he'd been too depressed and drunk to care most of the time. Faced with Ezra's predicament, he felt guilty for being so self-absorbed. "Ezra...the Imperial that took you was a Pau'an." It was a statement, not a question.

Ezra's eyes went huge, but he nodded. Kanan reached out to place a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "He wants you because the Force runs strong in you. You didn't know, did you?"

Ezra shook his head, his body shivering as he remembered the Pau'an and his golden eyes. They were eyes that haunted his dreams, eyes that had shone with a twisted joy at the pain Ezra suffered. "I d-didn't know un-until he t-told me. He s-said I wa-was gonna be his apprentice...that...it was e-either that or he'd kill me." He glanced to Hera and Zeb. "I was s-scared t-to t-ell you. He said people would h-hate me, un-unless I became strong in th-the dark-side, like him." Ezra could barely talk as he struggled to get the story past his chattering teeth. "B-but I t-told him n-no. Please, Hera...Zeb...d-don't hate me. I'm not a bad person like that. I d-don't even know anything a-about the Force..." Tears began to streak down Ezra's cheeks, as he crossed his arms around him like he was cold.

While he spoke, Hera had come across the room, and when he finished, she grabbed him in a tight hug. "We love you, Ezra. We'd never hate you. Never." Zeb joined the hug as well, and they were all wiping tears before it was done. When they finally let him go, Kanan crouched in front of Ezra, bringing them more eye-to-eye.

"Ezra. There are two sides to the Force." Kanan looked him directly in the eyes and placed a hand on each shoulder. "There is the dark-side... full of lies and hatred and fear, just like the Pau'an showed you. But there is a light-side, too. I see that pure light in you." He paused, then looked up at Zeb and back at Ezra. "Because that same light is in me as well." It was as good a way as any to tell them what he was.

"Wait a minute..." Zeb said, blinking. "You can use the Force? You're not old enough to be a-a . . ."

He smiled sadly and nodded. "I was a Jedi Padawan during the Clone Wars, when I was around the same age as Ezra. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. I was afraid it would put you all in danger, and I didn't think I'd be staying around long enough to..." _Long enough to care about you all_ , he thought. _But I do. I do care._

"Wait...You were a Jedi?" Ezra asked, finally making sense of what Kanan had said. "You survived the Jedi Purge?"

He nodded.

"Did you know?" Ezra looked to Hera.

She nodded as well. "I didn't know he survived until we met him in the bar the other night. I couldn't tell you because it wasn't my secret to tell. Kanan came to my planet with his master during the Liberation of Ryloth. We met as children, and I recognized him the other night."

"By the Ashla," Zeb murmured. "I understand why you didn't tell us, but you don't have to worry. We'll keep your secret."

"It wasn't that. I just didn't want to put you at risk like that," he said.

"It's not any more risky than having a Force-sensitive like Ezra on board." Zeb said, turning to Ezra and nudging him in the shoulder. "And we ain't giving you up, kit," he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Kanan caught Ezra's eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going to leave until I know that you are safe from this Imperial." There it was, his promise to stay. It felt right and the smile on Hera's face only served to punctuate it. Even the Force seemed to be pleased; it lay easy all around them, like a lake in calm weather now that Kanan had listened.

"It's getting a little late. We probably should get some sleep." Hera checked the time on her comm. "I'll try Vizago one more time and then we'll make a plan in the morning on what to do next."

"Sounds like a good idea." Zeb said, standing and heading to his quarters.

Hera put a hand on Ezra's shoulder as he was cleaning up their work from earlier. "If you need me, come get me," she said softly. She was exhausted after the last few long nights, but, after their discussion, she fully expected a nightmare for him this night. Maybe she would be wrong, but she never had been before.

Ezra nodded, picking up his container of parts. "Goodnight, Hera, Kanan." He exited to his room.

"Thank you, for staying. I know it's the last thing you wanted to do..."

"Not necessarily..." he smiled at her, surprised to find himself flirting a little bit. "Let's just say I like the view around here."

She rolled her eyes playfully as she turned to face him. "They say 'never date a bartender. They know every line in the book, and then some.'"

A serious expression touched his features as he looked at her. "No lines for you, Hera Syndulla." His hand found hers and his fingers interwove with her own. His ocean blue eyes stayed fixed on hers, and she found herself suddenly short of breath. He moved up to take her face in both of his hands, gracing a rough thumb across each soft cheek. "Been wanting to try something all day…" he murmured. Then he kissed her, just a soft brush of their lips together. It was a chaste kiss, but it held plenty of promise behind it. "Okay," he breathed, his half-lidded eyes memorizing the planes of her face as he searched it for a reaction.

"Just okay?" She answered, an eyebrow teasingly raised.

He shook his head, letting his hands take her own again. "Sorry, I was just thinking...' **okay** , she didn't slap me yet, so that's a good sign.'"

"Get slapped a lot, do you?" she asked.

Now he became a little flustered. "No, not normally, uh...but sometimes..."

She interrupted his grasping for words. "It is a good sign, you nerf. Now get some sleep. We're going to need it." And she was gone.

Nerf. He loved it. He couldn't decide if there was a little extra swish in her hips as she walked away from him or not. After watching her until she entered the cockpit, he decided there must have been. Flight suits had never looked that sexy, until now.

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A/N: I love the last paragraph here. My favorite chapter ending ever!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter! It's another dark one...I'll try to have some light chapters coming up, but this is what the muse dictated to me. Please let me know what you think... and thanks for reading.

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6.

Chimera

Kanan wasn't sure exactly what had awoken him, but he went from sleep to fully aware almost instantly. Listening for sounds around him, he felt nothing; the ship was fairly silent. He got on his feet in one quick movement, and headed for the door, hovering his hand over it. There was no one outside; however, he still had the feeling there was someone...an intruder...on board. He reached his hand out into the darkness and _pulled_...and his lightsaber flew to his grip. Later, he would wonder why he chose the lightsaber instead of the blaster, but at the time, he didn't question it.

He used the Force to slide his door open silently and he stood in the hallway, extending his senses in all directions around him. The feeling of intrusion was more intense in the hallway and following the sensation was leading him to Ezra's room. The air had acquired a thick viscous feeling, and the shadows seemed to move around him.

Once the door to Ezra's room was opened, the dark side spilled out. Was the kid calling upon it, accidentally somehow, or was this something else entirely? The glow of his weapon lit up the room and he saw Ezra curled up on the floor, his shoulders heaving with silent sobs.

The kid was broadcasting his emotions and thoughts like a comm station. Because of it, Kanan only had to extend his senses a little to read Ezra's dream-there was the iron smell of blood. . . an interrogation table. . .a voice smooth and insidious. . .and pain. The repulsive memories smothered him like a mildewed blanket. Ezra's panic was like the frantic beating of a butterfly wings in a spider's web. The Pau'an's face materialized in Kanan's mind. Looking into that gray, dead face of nightmare, Kanan felt the brush of a cold and slippery tentacle of thought against him. The thing was enjoying Ezra's terror, then there was a hint of surprise and a thrill of malevolent pleasure at finding a Jedi. The thing was pushing at him, testing him, feeling him out. _Two of them..._ he caught this phrase from the Pau'an's thoughts before shutting out the presence completely. This had to be some sort of dark-side power that the Imperial was using to torture Ezra. Kanan disengaged his saber and knelt to comfort the kid, who was in the grip of something utterly unbearable.

As soon as he touched Ezra, however, he was thrown back against the wall by an invisible energy and held there, unable to move. He could feel the dark force pressing down on him, holding him perfectly motionless and unable to defend himself.

Ezra had turned toward him, huddling back against the wall and watching Kanan warily from eyes that weren't seeing him...It was clear the kid was mentally somewhere else entirely. Tears streamed down his face.

"E...Ez...Ezra." Kanan managed to gasp as he began to fight to breathe. The steadily increasing pressure around him was preventing his lungs from filling with air.

"No!" Ezra screamed. "Leave me alone!" Kanan felt a cold snake of fear coil in the pit of his stomach as the kid's eyes narrowed and an icy wind blew through the room. The former Jedi's heart pounded and he felt lightheaded as he struggled for air. Ezra, still sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, buried his face against his knees and grabbed handfuls of hair with both fists. His voice rose in a wordless wail of mental and physical anguish.

"Pl...please...Ez…" Kanan groaned as his head was thrown back against the wall by the invisible force and a band of freezing cold pressure was applied around his throat.

Kanan began to see a dazzle of stars breaking up his vision. He was surprised to find he was worried he was about to die—it had only been a few days ago when he'd welcomed the thought. As he felt himself fading, he grappled for the light side of the Force and found it. He didn't want to hurt the kid, but it was beginning to get hard to think of alternatives with the lack of oxygen to his brain. In a last ditch attempt, he picked up everything in the room with the Force and slammed it down in one loud crash. It seemed to have the intended effect, which was startling Ezra and making him come back from whatever waking nightmare he was locked in.

At that same instant, Hera and Zeb entered the room. "Ezra? Kanan?" Hera cried.

That seemed to pull Ezra fully into the waking world. As the world grayed out around him, Kanan was released and would have fallen to the floor in a heap, if not for Zeb's arms catching him.

Ezra began to cry wordlessly and Hera pulled him into her arms. Her eyes, however, were locked onto Zeb. "Is he...is Kanan…?"

Zeb had laid the former Jedi gently on the floor and was attempting to find vital signs. Then he slumped back with a huge sigh. "Thank the Ashla, he's still breathing."

* * *

Kanan wrapped his hands around the mug of tea that Zeb had made him. He had come to in Zeb's arms as the great Lasat began to pull him back to the medbay. After insisting he was okay, Zeb had sat him on the booth seat and made him a cup of Hera's tea. He couldn't stand the stuff himself, but it seemed to soothe Hera and the kid, so he figured it would be better than anything else in this situation.

"Kanan, I don't know what to say about the kid. Ezra's never done anything like that before..."

Kanan nodded. He could feel a few bruises beginning to form around his neck. He was sure if not for Hera and Zeb, he would be dead now. "I don't really think he was consciously doing it, Zeb." His voice was raspy as he spoke.

"Looked conscious to me, but..." He shrugged. "What did he or you say before it happened?"

"I came in because I could. . .feel something was wrong. I went to Ezra-he was crying curled up on the floor. When I touched him is when he went off. I'm pretty sure he thought I was the Imperial."

Hera came out from the bedroom during the last part of what Kanan had said. She looked pale and shaken. "Kanan...I know it might not mean much, but he's...horrified at what happened. He wanted me to come see how you were." She didn't know what Kanan's reaction would be to all of this, but she didn't expect the reaction she got.

"It's not his fault," Kanan said, getting to his feet to go in.

"Wait...Let me help you..." Hera reached out, but he shook his head.

"I'm okay." He entered the room again and saw Ezra, sitting on his bed, his head down. Tears spilled down his cheeks, and he looked up, terrified.

"Kanan...I'm...I'm...so **sorry,** " he managed, his voice hitching. "I know you m..must h..hate me..."

Kanan shook his head, sitting beside Ezra and reaching out to enfold him. "Never." The kid buried his face into Kanan's shirt, and the flood let go. "It's okay, Ezra. It doesn't matter. I'm fine." He continually assured Ezra, looking down at the kid's Force-signature. It was confused and cluttered with dark side energies, but they would fade. At its heart, there was a pure, constant white light.

"I don't know what happened. I was dreaming and the Inquisitor came for me and I was trying to fight and. . .and. . ."

"Ezra. I know. I understand now." Kanan murmured into Ezra's thick blue-black hair. "The . . . Inquisitor's presence **was** there, I think. He's been attacking you in your mind...in your dreams. It's not your fault. Not your fault." He repeated it over and over as Ezra began to calm down. The gentle light of the Force Kanan funneled into his touch was helping as well.

As the boy sat back and wiped at his face, Kanan spoke again. "Let your guilt over this go. It's too heavy a burden to bear." The irony of that statement was not lost upon Kanan, but it still didn't make his statement any less true.

"But...how do I keep it from happening again? I don't want to hurt anyone." Ezra asked. Kanan could read his thoughts easily and could feel the boy's utter desperation.

"Well, I'm no teacher, but I can show you how to shield your thoughts. And how to hide your Force-signature so that the Inquisitor can't find it so easily." Kanan felt that he had to do at least that much, so that they would all be safe. The kid was distraught enough over what had happened to Kanan, and the former Jedi could only imagine what the reaction would be if Ezra inadvertently hurt Hera or Zeb.

Ezra nodded, his eagerness shone in the Force like a supernova. "Right now?"

"Not now. Tomorrow. Right now you need rest."

Hera brought them more tea, sitting on Ezra's other side and wrapping an arm around him to ensure him that everything was okay.

As things seemed to calm, their conversation turned to other things, like how Hera had gotten in touch with Vizago and scheduled a meet in two days. "We're meeting at one of Vizago's alternate sites. When the heat's on, he moves around. He couldn't say much, but it sounds like he's heard of our Imperial entanglement."

"Where's the site?" Kanan asked, apprehension beginning to buzz in the back of his mind.

"Garel. Why?" Hera asked.

"Just wondering. You trust him?"

"Trust him?" she laughed. "No. You'd be an idiot to trust him. He would sell his mother to Jawas for a couple of credits. I trust his greed, though, and these computers will be worth a pretty penny once he gets them wiped and ready for sale."

"She's right," Zeb added.

Kanan nodded. Alright, that wasn't the problem or source of the anxiety. It was something...else. He looked down at Ezra, who was leaning against Hera, and saw that he'd fallen back asleep. He took Ezra's empty mug from the boy's slackening hand. "He's asleep." Kanan whispered. After he'd gotten the mug, she gently eased him into the bed, under the blankets.

They turned the lights low and exited, leaving his door open so that a shaft of light from the hallway spilled into his room.

"Hera. We need to get out of here." Kanan said suddenly.

"Why? We've got two days until the meet..."

"I'm not sure." He turned his head to the side, as if he were listening to something beyond her range to hear. Finally he hit upon it. "It's the Pau'an...Inquisitor...he's close. That's how he was able to affect Ezra so strongly. He must be on Lothal."

"Karabast." Zeb muttered. "The sleemo's stalking us."

"We'll jump to Garel and hang out around one of the moons." Hera headed toward the cockpit, followed by Kanan and Zeb.

Kanan felt the anxiety ease as soon as Hera broke the atmosphere. They'd be okay now, for a while. As soon as they were safely in hyperspace for the short jump, Zeb headed back to bed for an hour or two.

Hera was glad for the privacy. Zeb didn't need to be upset any further. "Now that the big guy's gone, level with me. Is Ezra going to be a danger to us or himself?" Kanan hesitated, not wanting to alarm her and she saw through it. "Be straight with me, Kanan. This is my ship and I need to know." Her green eyes were steady on his own.

"Right now, he's fine. I mean, he's not **fine** , but he's not in any danger right now, and I don't believe he's going to hurt us." He sighed, trying to think of how to explain something that he was not sure of. "But somehow, the Inquisitor's contaminated Ezra with the dark side. The kid has a lot of fear...and I guess I just triggered it when I touched him. I'll...I'll try to help him, but I'm no teacher, Hera."

"Well, in this case, you're a better one than I could be to him." She looked up at him with worry etched into her features. "Kanan, I'm scared for him."

"Me too." He admitted, looking down and sensing the danger all around them. How much of that danger was because of Ezra and how much was because he, himself, wasn't trained enough, he didn't know. The training he did have would have to be enough to keep this kid safe. It just had to be. She reached over and took his hand in hers. It was a small comfort in a landscape that had become perilous in such a brief amount of time.

* * *

Up next: the meet with Vizago and some interesting information that he will offer our heroes...for a price.

Thanks for reading, commenting and favoriting!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, here you go. The longest chapter yet. I have vacations from work every several months and now my vacation from work is over, so...back to the old grind. :( I will still try and update as regularly as possible (I'm shooting for once a week). Hope you're still loving this...Kanan has a lot left to do to fight the evil influence of the Inquisitor and Sabine will probably be seen in the next chapter. Please let me know what you think.**

 **OH and BTW-I finally gave Zeb and Kanan some bro time in the bar. Apparently they ended up having a pretty good time (although I did not show that scene directly). Thanks to Okadiah and ja54591 for the idea...it led to a little scene at the end that I liked.**

* * *

7.

It was definitely a case of trying too hard, Kanan realized. At first, Ezra had been too scared to even try to connect to the Force, afraid that he could hurt someone. Now he was trying too hard and both he and the kid were getting frustrated. They'd been trying to meditate for an hour and Ezra had yet to even sense the Force that Kanan could easily see and feel flowing around them. He tried to actually think of how he did it and the actual process was so automatic, it was hard to describe.

 _It's like trying to tell a blind man about the color blue_ , Kanan thought. "Ezra, stop. Stop." He placed a gentle hand on Ezra's shoulder.

The kid looked up at him, seeing him through a sheen of frantic worry. "No...no, I'll try harder. I..."

Kanan shook his head and smiled. "I think that's the problem...just relax." He tried to remember back to the time he'd seen his first glimpse of the beauty of the Force. "You're trying too hard. Don't worry, we're not giving up... just maybe we should try a different angle."

Everyone felt the Force differently. Some experienced it as an ocean of light, some as a wind, some even felt it as electricity or heard it as music. When he'd seen it first, it had been like a river of light, like a gentle current of water that lapped gently at you. Like an ocean of light that ebbed and flowed like a tide or...a heartbeat. A heartbeat... "Ezra. Close your eyes. I want you to just listen for a while. Listen to everything."

Ezra closed his eyes and tried to focus. He heard a slight movement of Kanan's boots on the floor as the former Jedi shifted. He heard the drone of the engines as they kept the Ghost in orbit around Garel's moon. He heard the soft woosh of the recycled air through the vents. He heard faint footsteps passing, then retreating to the back of the ship. Kanan's voice came to him like a whisper. "Now listen to your heartbeat. The Force is there, if you have the time and patience to hear it..."

Ezra strained to hear what Kanan was describing, and he was failing again. "I'm trying," he said helplessly.

Suddenly, Kanan could hear the voice of Master Yoda in his mind. The little green being had taught all the younglings and Kanan still had a soft heart for the teacher who had always stayed after each lesson to answer his plethora of questions."Do or do not," he murmured. "There is no try." Ezra sighed with frustration and went to open his eyes, but Kanan put a hand on the back of Ezra's head and his other hand over Ezra's eyes, closing them again. "Just listen. Look inside yourself. The Force's light is there if you go deeply enough."

Kanan closed his eyes himself and began to push the Force to Ezra, as he'd done the night before. He hoped it would make the kid calm down enough to be able to focus and see the light side for himself. There was no reaction at first, but Kanan kept up his steady reliance on the Force, trusting it as he hadn't done in a long time.

After moments, there was a sharp intake of breath from the kid. "I see it." There was a brilliant spike of light in Ezra's Force signature. "Kanan...it's amazing."

Kanan let his hands drop, a smile spreading on his features. "Yes. Yes it is." His eyes were still closed as he held his connection to Ezra and the Force. The kid had potential, if the brightness of his Force signature was any measure.

For Ezra, the Force was like a gentle wind of a summer day on Lothal. The grasslands would wave in the breeze and the land around the communications tower where he lived would look like a green ocean, waves of wind rippling the grass gently. The Force reminded him of that and he basked in the warmth.

"How do you feel?" Kanan asked. He could sense the crest and swell of happiness in Ezra's Force signature and it eased his mind. This was working, he thought.

"Peaceful." Ezra murmured. The Force felt like the warm light of Lothal's sun and he floated in it.

"This is the light side of the Force, the side of the Jedi. This is what you need to reach for when you feel frightened. Not the dark side, not where fear lives. You grasped for the dark side because you were afraid. The more you meditate, the more control you will have over yourself and your fears. Understand?"

Ezra nodded, forgetting that they both had their eyes closed meditating and Kanan wouldn't see it, but Kanan was so attuned to the boy he felt it anyway.

"Good." They floated on the warm ocean of the Force for a while. When Kanan sensed that Ezra had the feel of what he was doing, Kanan released his grip on their connection and opened his eyes.

Ezra still sat in front of him, his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face.

 _Caleb_.

The voice came from behind him, right over his left ear. He almost thought he didn't hear it at all until it came the second time.

 _Caleb._

It was a whisper. As Kanan got to his feet, the Force surged around him and things shifted.

 _Caleb._

He was standing next to Ezra, but in many ways it wasn't Ezra. The kid's hair was short, and his eyes were all wrong. It only took a moment before Kanan realized that he wasn't really here...this was something the Force was showing him. As he looked around, gathering details, he saw that they were in a large audience chamber. In front of them was an empty throne. A figure, dressed all in black, took several steps off the dais and toward them. Kanan's stomach lurched when he tried to see the black figure's Force signature. Looking into it was like looking into a black hole.

He tore his eyes away and back to Ezra who stood, swaying on his feet. His eyes were glazed and out of focus. As he took a closer look, he saw that the boy had various cuts and bruises on his face and arms, as well as injection marks. Dried blood made dark colored splotches on his clothes. The Pau'an said something Kanan couldn't hear, then placed a hand on Ezra's back and shoved him roughly to his knees. The whole vision took place in less than half a minute.

 _I don't understand. I don't-_

Suddenly it was over and he realized he was actually still sitting, staring at Ezra. The kid's eyes were closed; he was still in the midst of the Force. Kanan tried to pull himself back together after the disturbing vision. What had the Force tried to show him? Was the Inquisitor going to find Ezra after all?

 _I don't understand._ He mentally asked the Force to show him more, but it was stubbornly silent.

Kanan was still at a loss when, Ezra came out of his meditative state. "Kanan, that was amazing!" Ezra stood up as he released the Force, too excited to stay still. "I gotta admit, when we first started, I thought it was going to be boring. When I kept failing I thought I'd never get it, but then...it was so easy." He looked up at Kanan who had stood up while he was talking. "Thank you."

" **I** really didn't do anything. Ezra, you're the one that took an important step today. I'm proud of you—you didn't give up," he said, reaching out to lay a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "We have a preliminary meet with Vizago tonight, so we'll practice more tomorrow." That would give Kanan time to think about what he'd seen and figure out how to address it.

Ezra seemed to brighten under Kanan's praise, and he looked happier. All morning he'd been a shadow of himself, distracted and worrying over the previous night's events. "Okay-"

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in." Kanan called.

The door slid open to reveal Hera. "Oh, there you are," she smiled at Ezra. "Zeb was looking for you. He's moving the computers to the _Phantom_." She cast a glance in Kanan's direction. "We're going to go down and dock at the spaceport later this afternoon. Preliminary meet with Vizago tonight, then we'll set up delivery if we're able to make a deal. Ezra, you and Chopper will stay with the ship to monitor things. That way we can get a pick-up if we were to get into hot water."

Ezra looked a little disappointed. "Aw, I wanted to go."

She reached out and ruffled his long hair. "I know. But Kanan doesn't know the _Ghost_ like you do. I can't leave my baby with just anyone. And if it goes badly for some reason, we're all depending on you to come and get us."

Ezra nodded. "Okay. I guess it makes sense. I'll go help Zeb." Ezra headed out past Hera, the smile she'd seen on his face back in place.

"Well, he looked happy," Hera remarked.

"Yeah. I guess seeing the Force for the first time does that to you."

"He was able to learn some things?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"It was a little tough at first. He was scared of it, because of the Inquisitor. Then he couldn't do it because he was trying too hard. But we worked through it." Kanan smiled, actually looking proud.

"You're doing a great job. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it," she said. "Back in the past, Force-sensitive kids got an earlier start on all of this, didn't they?"

He nodded. "They were usually taken by the order as infants, never knowing their birth family. We just considered the Jedi as our family."

At his expression, she felt a sad twist of pain in her heart. He'd lost his entire family in one day. Everyone he'd known as friends or family gone within hours. She opened her mouth to say something, but found that her words were inadequate to express her sorrow at his past.

He shook off the memories, turning his mind back toward Ezra. "As fast as he picked up connecting with the Force, he should be able to learn how to hide himself from the Inquisitor...at least if I can figure out how to show him what to do."

"You will," she said seriously. "You'll figure it out."

He gave her a sidelong glance and a half-smile. "At least one of us has faith in me." He paused a moment, then went on. "Where are we meeting Vizago?"

"At the same bar that Zeb used to work at...the Syzygy."

"Zeb can show us the layout, and we can set up in three different locations, that way we can get a good view of the room, and Zeb and I will be nearby, in case something goes wrong. That way we'll also have the element of surprise."

"We can use the earpieces to stay in contact. It sounds like a good plan."

"Thanks. Strategy used to be one of my strong points..." He turned to find his blaster and holster, but she surprised him by taking his hand.

"I can think of a few others..."

"Mmm, really?" He asked, turning back to her. She had that teasing look in her eyes again, so he put his arms around her and rested a hand lightly on her lower back. The curve of her body seemed to fit perfectly against him.

"Mmm...hmmm. You're tall… a quick thinker...not **entirely** unintelligent…."

"Oh, thanks..." He raised an eyebrow at her, but knew she was playing with him by the hint of a smile on her lips.

She went on as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Strong...and last, but not least, good-looking..." She began to lean up on her toes and he inclined his head. His mouth had just brushed her lips when Zeb interrupted them.

"Hey, what ti—Oh! Uh...sorry." The Lasat was in the doorway before he realized what he was walking in on. He turned quickly, looking across the hallway and wondering if he should just leave. "Karabast… sorry."

Hera kept her eyes on Kanan but laughed softly. He smiled in return, as his hand slipped from her back. She caught his fingers in hers, but then let them go. "What is it, Zeb?"

Zeb turned to see them now simply standing near each other. He rubbed the back of his neck, self-consciously. "Didn't mean to uh...kriff that up. I wanted to ask when we'd be going planetside?"

"It's afternoon now, so I guess we can go ahead once we check equipment, go over the plan one more time, and find something to eat near the spaceport," Hera said. "Then we'll get there early, case the place and meet Vizago when he decides to show."

Zeb nodded. "He's sometimes late."

"Sounds like a plan." Kanan said.

"Ok. I'm sure you two have some blasters to clean, or something like that, so I'll let you get to it." She stepped past Zeb and out of the room, flashing a knowing grin to Kanan before she left.

Once she was gone, Zeb leaned back against the doorframe, eyeing Kanan. "So...not to sound like a father or anything, but it looks like you and Hera...are hitting it off."

Kanan gave a Zeb sidelong smile. "I think so."

"Uh-huh." Zeb raised an eyebrow. "Me and Hera been traveling around for a while now, and I would be remiss if I didn't tell you to be careful there. Don't trample on her heart, you know? I would take it badly if that were to happen. And you probably don't want me to take things badly—Jedi or not." There was a little hint of a growl in his last words.

Kanan raised his own eyebrow and examined Zeb, using the Force. He saw that the Lasat's words had come from his heart, a place of deep caring for Hera, and he respected that. The former Jedi decided to ignore the threat because Zeb had said it half-humorously, and he had no intentions of hurting Hera. "Zeb, I want you to know I would never hurt Hera. Not for anything in the whole universe."

The Lasat, who had been evaluating his answer, gave a nod. "Alright." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Now that that's over with...guess where we're going tonight?"

* * *

The Syzygy was the kind of bar Kanan liked. Loud enough to hide any conversation from eager ears, but not so loud that one couldn't have a conversation. It was dark enough, but not too dark. He'd checked it out first, and except for some renovation near the kitchen, it was exactly as Zeb had described over dinner. It had changed owners and names a few times, it seemed, so Zeb wasn't likely to be recognized, which could be a good thing.

He took a spot at the bar, ordering Ebla beer, knowing that, in a place like this, it would be a bit watered down, and therefore he could stay sharp. He turned and skimmed the place with a casual glance, easily able to see the booth where Hera sat and Zeb's nearby table from the other side of the U shaped bar. When Vizago showed up, Zeb would join them at Hera's booth. Kanan would stay concealed as one of Hera's crew while they met with Vizago, just in case something happened and they did need the element of surprise.

"Everything looks good," he murmured, knowing the earpiece he had would carry his words to Zeb and Hera.

"Yeah. Too bad it doesn't taste good." Zeb replied, taking a sip of his own ale with a grimace.

"You boys can order something better later." Hera said, a smile in her voice.

"Hi, spacer." A Theelin slipped onto the seat next to Kanan. She had purple and aqua hair and her eyes were an almost perfect match with her purple skin. "I'll take a Meltdown, please." She said to the bartender who had come over. Then she turned her eyes on Kanan in a very pointed look of interest.

Kanan nodded to her, and then glanced to Hera. She gave him a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"It's been one of those kind of days," the Theelin took her drink, then turned her attention back to Kanan and let out a squeak. "Ohhh, you're really cute."

"Uh, thanks?" He took another sip of his drink and glanced again in Hera's direction. She looked thoroughly amused, her chin resting on her hand as she watched the Theelin reach over and free a strand of Kanan's brown hair from its tie. The Theelin curled it around her finger a few times while looking deeply in his eyes.

" **So** cute. What ship did you come in on? I may need to book passage." She leaned in, wrapping a spotted arm around his waist.

Kanan finished off his drink in one bolt. "Hey, I'm gonna need something a little stronger," he called to the bartender.

He ordered a Blue Tonic as the Theelin turned back to her own drink, still chatting away. Kanan made noncommittal noises as he realized he probably deserved this. He'd thrown out his share of cheap lines in his time. Hera surely seemed amused at his predicament; she was still watching with a smile, her pretty green eyes following the progression of the Theelin's advances.

"...this little place on the south side. It's not much, but it would be just cozy for the two of us." Pretty purple eyelashes blinked over her lavender eyes as her hand slid down his back and lower.

"I'm real sorry, darlin'." Kanan took a long pull on his new drink. "I already gave my heart to someone a long time ago." He couldn't help a glance toward Hera.

"What happens on Garel, stays on Garel, right? I can make you forget her. I mean how serious can it be?" The Theelin rubbed a hand up and down his arm.

"Pretty serious. We've known each other since we were kids." He murmured.

"Really? That's so sweet," Hera said into the comm, still with a touch of amusement at his predicament.

He had glanced to Hera again, then noticed her eyes shifting to a man approaching her table. The new arrival was bald and sported head tattoos that twined down his neck and underneath the collar of his shirt. Kanan had been expecting a Devaronian, as Hera had described, but perhaps Vizago had sent someone else; either way, it was time to be all business.

"Oh come on. She doesn't have to know. It can be just between us. You know one of those things..."

Kanan was becoming a little irritated at being distracted from the feed in his ear. Then he heard it.

"-not interested." Hera's face was all wrong, and her body language had become defensive.

The bald man towered over her, trying to be threatening. "'Come on, don't be like that. I always wanted to see what it was like to kriff a tailhead..." By this time, Kanan had already stood and started toward the booth. The sleemo had taken Hera's arm in his meaty fist, and was trying to pull her to her feet. Her free hand was already reaching across her body to her blaster. Simultaneously, Kanan noticed Zeb was coming back from a quick trip to the fresher, but the former Jedi made it there first.

"The lady's not interested, so move on Murglak." Kanan shoved the drunken patron on the shoulder, then dodged the man's first punch when he wheeled around.

The man's hard blue eyes met Kanan's and he reached out to shove back. "Fuck off. We're just having a conversation here, kriffin' laserbrain."

By now Zeb had just arrived and both wanted to beat this guy unconscious, but Kanan knew the mission was important. "No, you **were** having a conversation, but **now** it's time to go home." He said, leaning in to make a motion with his hand that others in the bar wouldn't see. The guy smelled like a Hutt, too, and Kanan grimaced being so close to him. "And get a **shower** , for Edge's sake."

The man's demeanor changed as he looked toward the door. "It's time to go home," he muttered as he turned to leave. Kanan also heard him mumble something about a shower and he couldn't help but grin. It had been a long time since he'd used a mind trick, and he'd been worried he might have forgotten how.

Hera's brow furrowed in confusion at the sudden way the situation had been defused. "What in blazes was that?"

"I can't help it if the guy knows a good idea when he hears it." Kanan said, giving her a wink over his shoulder as he went back to his seat.

"Nice job, laserbrain," she teased.

"See what she does to me, Zeb?" Kanan quipped, as he returned to his stool. The Theelin, probably deciding that Kanan really did seem to be uninterested, had vacated her seat and was now curled up to a younger man in the back of the club who seemed to be falling for her advances. Poor guy doesn't know what he's in for, Kanan thought with a half-smirk.

The Devaronian did, indeed, show up a bit late. About half an hour later, Kanan saw him enter the bar alone and slowly make his way around, first greeting a barmaid, then the bartender as he ordered a drink.

He was basically your standard-looking Devaronian, horned, with red eyes, green skin and facial hair. One of his horns was broken,, which identified him as Hera's contact. Kanan listened as he found Hera and the group was joined by Zeb.

"Well, I'm glad to see you've avoided any Imperial entanglements, my dear."

"We're sure we weren't followed to Garel," Hera said. "Since you put us onto this job for Narvak Tech, we thought you'd like first shot at the cargo. You know, since Narvak's not going to be needing them anymore."

"Yes, how unfortunate for Mr. Narvak." Vizago replied. "And how fortunate for me. Although I won't be able to make as much of a profit on these for a while...I'll need to let the heat die down first, you understand. I could offer you half of your original fee to take these off your hands."

"Half?" Zeb growled. "You're crazy..."

Kanan, watching from the bar, caught the way Hera placed a hand on Zeb's arm. The Lasat quieted immediately.

"Half is not even a fourth of what you're going to make off of the computers." Hera said, narrowing her eyes. "However, you know I'm always open to some sort of trade..."

Vizago took a sip of his drink and sat back, steepling his fingers. "Perhaps I do have some information you would be interested in."

"I'm listening." Hera said.

"A few weeks ago several, two maybe three, Imperial Academy students decided to escape and join the rebellion. Well, they were recaptured last week in the Outer Rim and they are being relocated to the prison facility on Lothal toward the end of this week. Later they are slated for transfer to the core and re-education...whatever unpleasantness that entails. I suppose a small determined force could get them out if they knew the date and time of transfer. Maybe I could get you specifics if it would help us make a deal."

Hera glanced to Zeb, then back to Vizago. "We're interested."

"So we do, indeed, have a deal?"

"Yes."

"Very good. We will meet you at the usual alternate spot to pick up the shipment."

"We'll be there at the usual time."

"Good evening, then." The Devaronian downed the last of his drink, stood up and bowed. Hera followed suit, then he headed for the door. The Twi'lek slipped back into the booth with Zeb, as Kanan joined them.

"Only giving us half is robbery." Zeb growled.

"Yeah, but the intel! Fulcrum told me about the missing academy students two weeks ago and asked me to keep an ear out for any information."

Kanan slid into the seat across from Zeb and Hera. "Fulcrum?" he asked.

"I'll fill you in, but later, when we're back aboard ship." She said conspiratorially, glancing around the bar. Kanan nodded. "I'm going to head on back, but you guys feel free to stay and blow off some steam."

"Someone should walk you back." Kanan said, standing when Hera stood.

"No. Being saved once in a night is plenty, thank you. The spaceport is only a few blocks away. Have fun, but not too much fun."

She left, Kanan watching her go. Zeb gestured for Kanan to have a seat again as he commed Ezra. "Ezra, if Hera doesn't make it back to the Ghost in ten, comm me. But don't tell her I called. I don't want her to know I'm checking up on her."

"Copy that. Everything go okay?"

"Went perfect, kit. Zeb out."

"So. This used to be your old watering hole, huh?" Kanan looked at the ale that Zeb was polishing off. "What's good here? It's definitely not the Ebla."

"I know something you'll like. It's a local specialty. It'll get you spaced pretty damned quick if you're not careful."

Kanan grinned. "Sounds like my type of drink. Bring it on."

* * *

Hera was in bed drowsing over a data pad when she heard some loud noises from the common area. She grabbed her blaster, jumped up from her bunk and padded silently to her open door to peer out. Then she relaxed. It was just Kanan and Zeb.

"Sorry." Kanan was obviously supporting Zeb who mumbled something incoherently and waved a hand.

Hera came forward and slipped an arm under Zeb's other shoulder. "Let's get him into bed," Hera said, helping Kanan turn Zeb and ease him through the doorway to his quarters. "You guys must have hit it pretty hard tonight..." she commented as they deposited Zeb in the lower bunk.

"Yeah." Kanan leaned up against the wall, watching as Hera pulled off the poleyns and greaves from Zeb's lower legs, and remove his bo-rifle from its holster on his back. "Can see you've done this before..." he remarked smiling at her.

"Yeah," she let out a sigh, working the pauldrons off his shoulders. "He was having a hard time when he first came to us. Lots of late nights like this." She sat on the side of the bed and began to remove the vambraces from his forearms. "Did you two have a good time?"

Kanan raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was obvious." He was able to keep his serious expression for a moment before he broke out in laughter. "Sorry. Zeb had us drinking Garel's version of Grog. Pretty, uh...pretty damned potent. Of course those shots we did later probably didn't help either…and then there was the Corellian brandy..."

"I see." She couldn't help but smile at him as she pulled the blanket over Zeb. "C'mon." She stood and offered her support when she saw Kanan sway on his feet on the way to the door. "How in the world did you two make it back here drunk as you both are?"

"Force only knows." He chuckled. "Maybe it was you."

"What?" She was clearly amused as she helped him into his bedroom.

"You seem to keep bringing me back here." She laughed at his words and deposited him on his bunk, then perched beside him. He tried to tug on the buckles of his armor, but was having trouble making his fingers do what he wanted them to do. He gave up with a frustrated gesture and a sigh and fell back against the back of the bunk, his legs hanging off the bed.

"Ok, you're making jokes about me bringing you back to your bedroom, Kanan Jarrus? Very funny. Turn to me." He did, and she began removing his shoulder plate. She wasn't sure if this was an elaborate line he was trying to run on her, more flirting to draw them together or what.

"I didn't mean that. I meant...you keep me from leaving. I mean..." He sighed in frustration, again leaning back against the bulkhead behind the bunk and closing his eyes. "See, I thought I was gonna be able to leave here...once everything's set with the kid, but...it's not that easy." He knew the alcohol had loosened his tongue, and just hoped he wouldn't say something he would regret later.

"It's not?" She asked, moving to the plates of armor on his arm. She released first one, then the next, and set them beside the bed.

"No." His blue eyes seemed very dark in the shadows under the bunk as he regarded her. "It's you. You..." He made a motion between the two of them. " **This** scares me. Nothing's the same anymore."

" **It** scares you?" Her expression softened. "Kanan?"

"What I feel for you...I've never felt before." She could tell he was struggling. "Jedi didn't allow themselves attachments...we weren't supposed to, so I never did."

Her brow contracted in confusion. "Kanan...come on. You're too confident...too good-looking not to have..." She was so stunned she couldn't bring herself to say the words, and she felt a flush of heat on her cheeks.

He blushed deeply, "No, no. There was plenty of that," he bowed his head. "Surely too much of that. But I wasn't attached to any of them. I never let myself…."

 _Oh_! she thought. She reached out to touch his hand and their fingers intertwined. How much of his trepidation about all of this-having friends, a sort of family, a relationship-was due to his training, the precepts that the Jedi must have instilled in him almost since birth? She knew Jedi were taught to have no attachments. No wonder he seemed like he was always holding part of himself back or shielding his feelings with a few humorous words. And it was becoming clear from his halting confession that he'd tried to find some kind of closeness without letting his heart become involved. Her heart ached with the loneliness he must have experienced the last fifteen years. "Kanan...You know you always have a place with us, right? As long as you want it and no matter what happens or doesn't happen with the two of us."

He nodded, squeezing her hand in his own, then he laid his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes. "Yeah, this thing between us. I'm really scared that I'm gonna kriff it up."

"You won't, you nerf." She murmured, placing a kiss against his brown hair.

"Evidently you don't know me very well..." He said, then chuckled softly. They sat there a long time, in which he closed his eyes. In fact, she thought he was asleep when he finally murmured, "Just...just give me some time to work it all out."

"All the time you need, love." She could tell he was done for the night by his deep, even breathing. With gentle care, she moved and eased him down onto the pillow in the bed. She removed his boots while he mumbled a few sleepy, incoherent words. "It's okay, Kanan. Sleep well, love." She kissed him one last time, turned off the lights and left him to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hi everyone. I hope you haven't forgotten my little story...lol. Real life has been a beast lately. I had a really bad migraine last weekend and then my 13 year old kitty had to be put to sleep on Monday, so it's been a rollercoaster of a week. Although I thought of you all often, it had been kind of hard to write through all of that. I did get something done, though, and I hope you enjoy it.

OH! and I'm so sorry about Sabine. I had to put her off a little, but if things go right, next chapter should start with her story. Now to more training. Kanan's afraid to call it Jedi training right now, but we all know what it is and where this is leading, don't we? :)

* * *

8.

Ezra woke up first the next morning. As quietly as possible, he rose and hit the fresher for a shower (happily it was a shower with water this time since they were docked). He got dressed and padded into the kitchen to find something to eat.

Hera had picked up some fruit on her last supply run, and so he snagged a ripe jogan and began to devour it hungrily. It would tide him over until Zeb or Hera got up and made breakfast. Zeb swore that he had an extra stomach with the amount of food he could put away, but Hera had simply laughed and said that he was still growing, trying to catch up on all he'd missed during his time on the street. He supposed it was true.

It always seemed like he was trying to catch up for things he'd missed. Zeb and Hera had helped him a lot since rescuing him. In addition to teaching him a little about cooking and how to use the clothes fresher, Hera had taught him how to read. He remembered the things he'd learned before his parents had been taken, but regular schooling had stopped after that, and so he was left with whatever he could figure out on his own. He could read street signs enough to get by, along with recognizing the names of food and businesses, but that was about the limit of what he could do.

Just because he couldn't read well didn't mean he wasn't smart. Hera had told him there was a big difference between being stupid and just unlearned. Once she'd spent a couple of months helping him, he had made rapid progress. Zeb had been teaching him how to shoot a blaster and defend himself, and he'd come a long way from that scared and wounded kid that they'd rescued. But now it seemed that scared and wounded kid had only been hiding in his nightmares, waiting to come back. A frown came over his features. He could feel the same thread of fear that had tied him up and made it impossible to speak to Hera and Zeb when they'd saved him. It had taken days before he felt he could truly trust them. Their love and gentle care had countered the fear and pain that he'd been put through by the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor. Just thinking of the Pau'an made him feel helpless and weak. He curled up in the booth, pulling both knees up to rest against the dejarik table. He took another bite of the jogan, chewing mechanically and tasting nothing while his thoughts wound around in his head like knotted ropes. Facing his fears had always been impossible before...but now, things were different, weren't they? Now he had the Force...the light side of the Force.

That day that the Grand Inquisitor had taken him prisoner was still in his mind, as real and terrifying as it had been that very moment. He closed his eyes, and before he let the memory out, he tried to touch the Force again, like Kanan had shown him. He extended himself to it, like petting a stray lothcat, and the Force responded to his connection. He'd practiced several times yesterday and after getting it that first time with Kanan, he'd been able to grasp it every time. When he felt the warmth and safety of the Force's sun, he went back to that moment in his mind feeling more reassured.

He'd been stealing again. At the time he'd felt no stab of morality in stealing food from some of the city vendors. Scraps from the few sympathetic businesses had been a little thin lately and his grumbling stomach and growing dizziness was more than enough to squelch any hesitant feelings about taking things that didn't belong to him. Anyway, they could obviously afford it. He never stole from anyone who had voluntarily helped him out over the years, and he was willing to work for a handout, if that's what it took. But today, he was so hungry he couldn't wait. He slipped into one of the supply stores along one of the side streets in Lothal and checked around for the owner.

As he slipped behind a shelf and swiped a couple of bags of dried nerf meat, he felt a coldness come over him. It was like the building's climate control had been set to Hoth. He felt a shiver run through him, but tried to ignore it as he secreted the food in his backpack. Then he whirled around toward the door and . . .

He'd been there. The Grand Inquisitor. Smiling with sick yellow eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"Oh, I've been looking for you...You're very special." He said, making a movement with his hand. The little store stood on a street corner and had two entrances, and as Ezra went to run out the other one, he found he couldn't. He couldn't move at all because some sort of invisible force was holding him motionless. The Pau'an leered like a holovid monster come to life.

The Inquisitor leaned in and spoke right by his ear, a soft sound that made every hair on his body stand on end. "That's right, boy. The monster **has** found you." Then the creature reached out and touched the side of his head, sending Ezra into unconsciousness. The last thing he remembered was falling, then he was lost in the dark.

Ezra shivered as he remembered the evil Pau'an and his smooth, cold voice, like durasteel. Up until now, he'd only had the strength to relive that terrible day in his dreams. The Jogan fell from his nerveless fingers and rolled to a stop on the table. He buried his face against his knees and began taking slow, deep breaths, reaching again for the calm that Kanan had shown him. He was fighting his fear, but with his fragmented attention, the Force became slippery once more.

 _Ezra?_ Kanan's voice quietly flowed into his agitated thoughts like cool water in a stream. _You're doing great. Just empty your mind and let it fill with the Force. All these are just memories that can't hurt you anymore._

"O-ok..." He nodded, not sure if he answered aloud or just with his mind.

Kanan slid into the booth and gently put his hand on Ezra's shoulder, helping him by steadying his scattered thoughts. _I'm here. You're okay._ He let Ezra calm himself through his connection with the Force. The kid had obviously been reliving a bad memory, but Kanan had only caught a sensation of falling through darkness.

They stayed like that for long moments, until Ezra felt calm enough to uncurl from his position in the booth.

"Doing ok?" Kanan asked, dipping his head to get a glimpse of the boy's eyes.

"Yeah." Ezra looked surprised. "How did you know that...I needed you?"

Kanan was wondering about that himself. "I'm not sure. I just woke up and knew you were in a little trouble. But it wasn't bad like before. You had a hold on yourself."

"I just started thinking about what happened when I saw the Inquisitor for the first time, but I made sure to feel for the Force first..."

"You centered yourself. That's good." Kanan said. Ezra was showing that he had some intuitive ability to use the Force, and Kanan realized that perhaps the kid had always been using it without knowing it. Perhaps that was what drew the Inquisitor to Ezra. That thought brought back his 'vision' from yesterday. Should he ask Ezra about what he'd seen? He wavered back and forth a moment before asking, "When you were with the Inquisitor, did you ever see a figure all in black? Or a room with a throne?"

Ezra shook his head, looking confused. "No. Why?"

"I had a...Force vision yesterday. I saw those two things and I wondered if they were connected to you somehow..."

Ezra shook his head again. "I didn't see anything like that. What's a Force vision?"

"It's when the Force might give you a glimpse of the future or a possible future. What one sees may not always come to pass, however, so they are tricky." That had to be the understatement of the year. "I saw one only once before…"

"Did it come true?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But...but it didn't help me. It was only later that I realized what the vision had been trying to tell me."

Ezra blinked as a shiver of fear passed through him. "Was I...Was I there? Did you see me in your vision of the Inquisitor?" He asked.

Kanan looked Ezra in the eyes, and lied. "No." The kid didn't need to know that Kanan had seen him battered and bruised and in the company of the Inquisitor AND the strange figure in black. He made sure he held the truth behind his mental shields in case the kid could somehow sense it. He felt horrible for doing it, but Ezra wasn't ready for something like that. And he was planning to be around for a while yet, so the Inquisitor would have to go through him first before he could hurt Ezra again.

"Oh. Okay," Ezra nodded.

The kid's relief was easy to sense, and Kanan was reminded how Ezra needed to work on his shields. It was the perfect time to try. "Ezra, I want to show you how to shield your Force-signature from others. This should keep the Pau'an from knowing where you are. If he tries to affect your dreams like he did the other night, he won't be able to."

"Okay." Ezra turned toward Kanan, and he could sense the eagerness in the boy. It reminded him of himself when he'd been that age.

Kanan gestured. "The floor. Same position as yesterday." They moved to the middle of room and sat.

Kanan closed his eyes, knowing that Ezra was doing the same thing. "Find the Force." He waited until he saw Ezra's Force signature shining like a crystal in the sun.

"Good." He murmured, retreating more deeply into the meditation. _Try to sense me,_ he thought, easily connecting with Ezra's mind in its relaxed state.

Ezra felt Kanan's thoughts and quickly grasped what the former Jedi wanted him to do. He could see Kanan's Force signature, a controlled blaze of white light in front of him. His own Force signature was an uncontrolled radiation of light, full of motion and depth, not nearly as concentrated as Kanan's. He got the feeling that Kanan's Force was stronger somehow.

 _It is. But only because of the control I have over it. You have the same strength of the Force inside you, Ezra._ The kid's Force signature shone brightly under the praise. _Now watch..._

Kanan realized he was probably just as practiced at hiding a Force signature as anyone in the Jedi-order had ever been. In his fifteen years of denying his past as a Jedi, he had practiced masking his Force signature every single day and it was almost automatic now. It had been a matter of survival.

Kanan's white light vanished completely. Ezra was so stunned, that he actually opened his eyes for a second, sure that Kanan had gotten up and left the room. But no. There he was, sitting right in front of Ezra with his eyes closed and his hands clasped Jedi-style in his lap.

Ezra closed his eyes again and found the Force. Kanan was still gone. He explored the darkness around him, and noticed a dimmer Force signature in one of the other rooms. When he brushed against it, he realized it was Zeb. _Zeb has a Force signature?_ The light was dimmer than his own and Kanan's but it was still warm and strong. He looked around and found one which he recognized as Hera's, also shining with its own beautiful glow.

Kanan's Force signature appeared near him. _Yes. They all have them._

 _How come Zeb's is different than Hera's?_

 _Because his people were always said to have a special connection with the Force._ He was not sure what it was, because Zeb was the first Lasat he had ever known, but that was what they had been taught at the Jedi temple.

 _How did you disappear? I couldn't sense you anywhere._

 _You have to blend in to the background. It's hard to explain, but I always imagine either blending in to the dark or squeezing myself into a smaller and smaller place until I can't be seen. Then my Force signature vanishes. Maybe start there?_ he suggested.

Ezra concentrated and the memory of hiding when his parents were taken by the Empire came to him. He'd wedged himself into a tiny square behind a panel in the secret room. Handing him his stuffed tooka cat, his mother whispered her I love you's before closing him into the dark. He'd felt safe, there, curled into a ball with his knees up to his chest, and the troopers had not found him.

 _Keep going..._ Kanan encouraged. Ezra's Force-signature was becoming dimmer and dimmer, as a candle flame in the darkness. He could still sense Ezra, but at least the kid wasn't glowing like a supernova anymore. And with practice...the goal was going to be achievable.

 _Very good. I can still sense you if I try, but not like before._

But the praise caused the kid to lose his grip, and he flared like a sun again. The former Jedi chuckled in his mind; Kanan couldn't help the genuine affection he felt for Ezra Bridger. The kid was unpracticed but strong, undisciplined but passionate and ready to give it his all. How could someone not care about him? Ezra had heart.

 _I'll try to do better. I'll practice._

 _You did well._ Kanan slowly withdrew himself from their shared meditation and opened his eyes to see Ezra's dark blue eyes examining him—hopeful that he measured up to Kanan's expectations. "It took me a while to learn to use Force-Stealth, so I figure you did pretty well for your first day."

"Really?"

"Really." He reached out and placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder, fixing him with his eyes. "If you feel even the hint of the Inquisitor, I want you to call me...in your mind...then hide like that. Immediately." Ezra nodded.

It was upon this scene that Hera emerged from her room. She stood in the hallway a moment, watching the two Force-sensitives talking in lowered voices. Kanan had an air of confidence that seemed to have been slowly building over the last few days, and Ezra was intent on his instruction. The whole thing eased her worries about them both.

She almost ducked back into her room to give them more time together, but Kanan dropped his hand from Ezra's shoulder and turned his head in her direction. He and Ezra stood as she came into the kitchen.

"Good morning, fellas." She met Kanan's eyes and felt his blue-green gaze brush over her face, searching for her smile. It actually made her blush, but Ezra was too excited to notice. He began trying to explain what he and Kanan had been doing, and even though Hera didn't really understand the mechanics of it, she listened and responded appropriately, all the time her mind fixed on Kanan. He'd had his personal doubts about training Ezra, but it appeared that he had put them aside to help the kid...her kid. She wanted to throw her arms around Kanan and tell him all she felt growing in her heart, but held back. He'd asked for time, and she was determined to give it to him.

"If you guys can hang out a few minutes, I'll make breakfast this time. Unless you already ate?" She glanced at the forgotten, almost completely eaten Jogan fruit.

Ezra grabbed it up. "I had a snack, but breakfast sounds great."

"Okay. Go wake up Zeb, and let him know we'll be ready to eat in a bit. I have a feeling he's going to need a few minutes." Ezra went into Zeb's room, and there was the sound of Zeb growling in response to Ezra's questions.

"Did you notice his scars?" she whispered, as she and Kanan headed into the kitchen.

It had been hard to miss the spiral wrap of thick scar tissue around Ezra's right arm. It had been just the right size and shape for the wound of a fire whip. Kanan felt a lurch of his heart as he imagined the kid reaching out to block the Inquisitor's blow, and the whip wrapping around his outstretched arm.

"Besides us, you're the first person he's ever let see them," she said meaningfully. "He trusts you."

"I won't let him down," he said simply. "Don't worry."

"Oh, love. I don't worry about you. I just think it's amazing." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then returned to chopping another jogan and meiloorun up into pieces. Just then, she heard another groan from the room. "Go tease Zeb. It's not often he finds he's met his match when it comes to drinking."

When Kanan made his first comment about Zeb's grandmother being able to drink the Lasat under the table, Hera snickered under her breath. By the time the flat cakes were done, she was crying with laughter, and had to rein in both Kanan and Ezra so that they could eat in peace.

* * *

Vizago met them at a distant location in Garel's desert. They saw that the _Broken Horn_ was actually early, waiting between some of the natural rock formations that dotted the land around them.

Hera set the _Phantom_ down nearby, a miniature sand storm rising up around it. When things quieted, she let down the cargo ramp. Kanan, Ezra and Zeb were first out of the ship. "Oh. I see you brought help." Vizago raised an eyebrow at Kanan, then looked to the Lasat.

"He's on the crew." Zeb answered, lifting his chin as if expecting a further challenge from Vizago.

"You can trust him." Hera came from behind Zeb and Kanan to greet the Devaronian.

"If you vouch for him, then I know I can trust him...at least as far as I trust anyone."

Ezra and Zeb began unloading the Phantom and stacking the crates. Vizago's droids began taking the computers into the _Broken Horn_ , working efficently while Hera spoke with the Devaronian.

"So. Payment?" Hera asked.

"Certainly." The Devaronian counted out credits into Hera's gloved palm. "As for the information, this is what I know from my update this morning. Three cadets were taken to the Lothal Imperial complex, however one, a girl, escaped soon after they arrived. As for where they are inside the complex, you will have to determine that yourself. Also, an Inquisitor is there to question the cadets...some sort of special Imperial officer, I'm led to believe. The two remaining cadets are scheduled to be transferred to the core in three days from now, 0200 hours."

Hera couldn't help glancing to Kanan at the word Inquisitor. Their expressions were tight as they shared a gaze, thinking of Ezra. "One escaped?" Hera said softly, turning back to Vizago.

"I do not know much about her." Vizago said. "Except that she is a Mandalorian. Hopefully she is long gone from Lothal. They have a search going for her, though, so if she's still there, she could be back in custody."

Hera nodded as Zeb and Ezra joined them. "Thanks. Until next time," she said, giving Vizago the ritual bow.

He responded in kind. "Let's go." Hera motioned her crew to the _Phantom_. If they were going to help these cadets, they had a lot of work to do.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hi everyone. Short note here. This is not perfect, (not nearly so)but I've been working and working on it so I think I gotta just post it and hope for the best. Chapter ten is going much more quickly, so I hope to have it up this weekend. As always, please let me know what you think, and thank you for sticking with me this long.

* * *

9.

As they ate takeout that night on Garel, they batted around plan after plan, finally settling on heading to Lothal that evening, then doing some in-person recon of the complex the next morning. They would lay low outside of town, monitoring comm traffic and adjusting the plan accordingly until nightfall, when they would carry out the rescue operation. The Pau'an had no reason to suspect that they would return again so soon, so Kanan hoped they would slip in under his notice.

After reaching Lothal, everyone had turned in fairly early, but Kanan remained awake, unable to quiet his mind. He had rolled back and forth, burying his face in his pillow before he finally threw the blanket off and gave up. He pulled his feet up underneath him and leaned back against his bunk, letting out a deep sigh. The Force was unsettled tonight, pushing and pulling at him like he was being sucked into a riptide, so he gave in, letting it pull him along in the enormous wavering current.

Long moments passed in which he drifted from one current to the other, allowing the Force to take him where it seemed to want him to go, when he heard the words, as clear as plastisteel, in the voices of all the Jedi he'd ever known.

 _ **Train the child in the ways of the Force.**_

The clear push from the Force startled him so much that he almost lost his grip on it. The voices in the Force were like an echo, each talking at their own speed and pitch, but they were all saying the same thing.

 _ **Train him.**_

His eyes snapped open. The Force was asking too much of him. Even...even the little that he'd taught Ezra had been the hardest thing he'd ever done. "No," he whispered, shaking his head, trying to find his way back into meditation.

He thought back to that morning's training. While working with Ezra, in the moment, he had been fine—mindful of the present and nothing else. It seemed disrespectful to Ezra to color the teachings with any of his feelings over his own past, so he'd put all of it away in his mind to focus on what was at hand. The kid had burdens enough to carry without adding Caleb Dume and all of his problems.

But it was the time after the training session that caused the wound in his heart to ache as much as it ever had. He had entered his room after breakfast, leaving the noise and distraction of the others behind and going over Ezra's lesson in his mind, trying to think of how to help the kid better, when he realized that his words to Ezra contained all the echos of his past teachers. Like a fingerprint pressed into the convolutions of his brain, they were all still there. They were Jedi long dead in the dust and mud of distant worlds. They were Jedi cut down by those whom they had trusted. It was then that the familiar pain swept back over him, as black and overwhelming as ever. He'd actually stood in the middle of his quarters for long moments, eyes closed and head bowed as he struggled for control over the black depression that threatened. He'd fought it off all afternoon, trying to concentrate on their plan to rescue the remaining Imperial Academy students, but it had been difficult.

And now...now the Force wanted him to train Ezra to be a Jedi. He wanted to scream back that the very idea of it was impossible. He had idolized all his teachers in the Jedi Temple-Masters such as Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, his own master Depa Billaba—they had been the living embodiment of what a Jedi Knight should strive for. What kind of example did he think he, Kanan Jarrus, could be for the kid? He was a **drunk**. He was **nothing**. He was a coward that had left **his own master to die**. He leaned forward and let his head fall into his hands. If he could only go back there...if only things could be made right. How many times had he wished for that over the years? At least every day, even though it was pointless.

 _ **Train the child. If you do not, another will.**_

A chorus of voices spoke louder, each one overlapping another and overwhelming his senses. He groaned in pain, violently severing his connection with the Force. It never had liked being denied, so it came back immediately, almost like a counterattack, pulling at him, demanding from him, but he pushed it away. The press of it was close in the small quarters so he got to his feet and dressed quickly. He had to get out of here or he would go base delta zero, with all these echoes of the past.

As he hit the ramp, he got an inquisitive whistle over his comm from Chopper. Without a reply, he hit the button to cut all transmissions and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Hera came from her room, scrubbing sleep from her eyes. Perhaps Chopper was wrong...and Kanan hadn't just took off from here like a fyrnock running from sunlight. She knocked on the former Jedi's door, but heard nothing from inside.

 _This is where he leaves you, Hera,_ she thought. _You couldn't fix him after all._ They'd only known each other a matter of days, but she had become attached. Much too attached. She'd let her heart get involved, and maybe she shouldn't have.

"What's going on?" She heard Ezra's sleepy voice from behind her.

She turned to look at him. His hair was ruffled and mussed from sleep and it made him look younger.

"Ezra, I just..." She started to just pass it off, but decided to be truthful. "Chopper told me that Kanan left out of here in a hurry. I . . ." She bit her lip. "I wanted to see if he had taken his stuff with him."

If he'd taken his backpack, then she knew he would be gone for good. Hera was surprised at the way her heart pounded in her chest at the thought.

Ezra walked over to her, his bare feet soundless on the floor. "Something **is** wrong...it woke me. It's the Force...I think something's happening with it."

That decided her. Hera punched in the code and Kanan's door slid open with a swish.

The blanket from the bed was a shapeless mass on the floor, but his backpack remained in the corner. Hera let out a sigh of relief and sagged back against the door frame.

"What do you sense...in the Force?" She asked softly, silently noting that Kanan's blaster was missing before she turned her gaze to Ezra.

"I don't know." Ezra shook his head, listening to the uneasy murmurs of the light. "But it's not calm like before. The Force…I think it **wants** something."

* * *

Whatever it was he was drinking, it was pretty strong. After the third shot of whiskey, the Force quieted. When he'd drunk down a third of the bottle, the numbness had spread to the rest of his body and the Force had receded into waves of white noise in the background, nothing more. It seemed as if it was waiting for something. It could wait forever if he had anything to do with it.

"Need anything?" The Ithorian came down the bar to check on him.

"Nope. This is just fine." He tapped the bottle he had asked the bartender to leave him earlier and nodded.

"Drinking to remember or forget?"

The dark haired human smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Both." The whiskey was doing its job, Jho noticed, and the nervous, cornered look the human had when he'd entered the bar was gone. Jho spent a lot of time watching the different sentients that drank in his bar and after so long, he'd gotten to where he could read people fairly well. The man in front of him was trying to escape something, or at least to forget it for a little while. Jho hoped he found what he was looking for.

"I hear that. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Actually, I do have a question. Who's the girl?"

"What girl?" the bar owner looked around, acting perplexed.

Kanan raised an eyebrow knowingly. "The one you have in the kitchen that keeps peeking out about every fifteen or twenty minutes." Really, he hardly cared, but he'd noticed her examining all the patrons in the bar and anytime someone looked in her direction, she ducked away.

"She's my niece." The Ithorian said, smirking. He sounded a little bit protective, Kanan noticed, so he played it off.

"Distant relative, huh?" Kanan quipped, shrugging. "I do see a bit of resemblance around the eyes..."

Jho let out a huff of amused disgust, rolled his eyes and headed back toward the other end of the bar. Every once in a while he glanced back at the solitary drinker. Most of the time the human was staring into his glass or the bartop, pausing in his study to throw back more and more whiskey. Whatever he was trying to do, he would be on the floor soon at this rate, and it wouldn't matter that he'd seen the girl because she'd be long gone by the time he sobered up. Spice whiskey was one of the most potent things Jho sold, and usually only the drinkers on a mission would down as much of it as the man seemed to be doing. Well, it was his funeral. After all, he'd come in asking for the strongest thing Jho had to offer. The stuff was a sort of local specialty.

Kanan's mood, which had been dark already, grew darker as the alcohol took effect. Now that he didn't have the Force about to drown him in its insistence that he train Ezra, he could think without all the "noise." He sighed tiredly as he realized there were so many reasons he shouldn't even consider training the kid.

The actual teaching of Ezra would be easy. The kid was a quick study, asked the right questions and had determination that would have matched any Padawan Kanan had known back in the temple. But there were several reasons, good reasons, that caused him to hesitate.

If he trained Ezra as a Jedi, it would make the kid more of a target. He supposed Ezra was already a target, if the Pau'an's interest in the kid was any indication, but still...maybe the kid's ignorance of his Force abilities was a blessing.

Then there was the problem of Kanan, himself. He took another swallow of the potent whiskey. He was cut out to be a brawler, not a teacher. He was a Padawan who had spent what? A few months in the field? As he was well aware, that did not make one a Jedi Knight. Was it better to train Ezra inexpertly, trying the best he could? It seemed to go against everything he'd been taught at the Jedi Temple. To respect the teachings of the Jedi was to follow them explicitly. And he hadn't done that in a long time...

And, okay, he was afraid. Admitting that training Ezra terrified him was easier now that he was drunk. Teaching the kid meant facing everything he'd run from. It meant facing memories he'd tried to submerge in his soul for fifteen years. Memories of his life before the Purge, memories of his master...when his life had a meaning beyond how much he could drink and which female he'd take back to his room that night. He'd held onto his memories for so long...that he wasn't really sure what would happen if he unleashed them. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, trying to put them back into the dark where they belonged.

 _It would be better to leave them. You can't teach the boy anything else. Now he's got enough to hide from the Pau'an, as long as he stays on the move. As long as he runs._ The voice in his thoughts was soothing, sinuously weaving through his mind, whispering how they didn't need him and would be better off without him. Then the Force would leave him alone, as it had done for the last fifteen years.

It was a good idea, probably, however there was no way he was going to be able to do that.

He had already sworn to them that he wouldn't leave. That stuck in his mind stubbornly, and it was a hard thing to get past. Kanan Jarrus was a drinker, a gambler, a drifter, a fighter, and an occasional...okay, maybe frequent liar, but what he didn't do was break the promises he made to friends. Not to Hera. Not to Zeb, and most certainly not to Ezra. He'd only known them a short while, but already...they were more than just friends. He cared about them.

And as Kanan thought about them, the kid especially, he realized how, in such a short time, Ezra, Hera and Zeb had led him to become a better version of himself. They were the only good thing to happen to him in a long time.

But teaching the kid how to be a Jedi? It was a bad idea all around. The Force could just kriff off. It was wrong. It had to be.

* * *

"What're you doing up so late?" Zeb found Hera sitting up in the common area, a mug of her favorite Rylothian tea in her hand.

"Keep it down. I just got Ezra back to bed." Hera said softly.

"Sorry." Zeb lowered his voice as he came and sat beside her. "Kid have another nightmare?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "He said the Force woke him up. Kanan's gone-apparently he took off toward the city, Chopper said."

Zeb scratched his beard. "Gone for good, you think?" He the note of sadness in his voice surprised him.

She shook her head. "I think he's coming back. He left his bag."

Zeb nodded, looking relieved. "He probably just had to blow off some steam. He seemed a little preoccupied this afternoon. If it wasn't that, maybe he's doing some early recon?"

"Probably so." She cocked an eyebrow at Zeb. "So why are you up? And ready to go?" She threw a glance at his bo-rifle, strapped across his back like usual.

"Got a lead on the escaped student. You know Old Jho from the cantina in town, right?" She nodded. When she and Zeb had first gotten together, he had spent a lot of time there and gotten to know Jho, who was sympathetic to those who resisted the Empire. "He commed me. He has the girl at the bar. He wanted to know if we could somehow help her." He grinned. "This is exactly what we needed. Someone who has seen the inside of that place."

"That's great, Zeb. Is she okay?"

"Jho said she was a little beat up, but nothing too serious. I'll go get her, and bring her back here. Then, if Kanan hasn't come back by then, I'll go out looking for him, too."

"Be careful. Stay in touch by comm. I can't raise Kanan on his." She frowned unhappily.

"Hera. He'll be okay." Zeb murmured, placing a paw gently on her arm. "I'll be back before you know it." He stood and before she could say anything he was gone.

* * *

When Zeb reached Jho's Pit Stop, he could see that things were winding down for the night. One man was speaking with Jho and paying his tab, and he also noticed another figure at the end of the bar, his head propped on his hand. There was an almost empty bottle of whiskey on the bar in front of him. When he came closer, he realized he knew the drinker.

"Kanan?"

Kanan opened his eyes and smiled sadly. "Zeb. Just trying to sober up enough to find my way back..."

"It's gonna be a while if you drank all that." Zeb said, reaching for the bottle. Then he smelled it. "This has spice in it...like those Reactor Cores. You gonna make it okay?" He gave Kanan an appraising look; last time he had seemed to have a bad reaction to either the spice liquor or the blue tonic or both. Sometimes Zeb couldn't help but wonder if Kanan had some sort of deathwish.

"Sorry. Bad night." Kanan admitted softly.

Zeb nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I understand, but you shoulda called me. I'd have come with you."

He nodded. "Hard to get used to that. Next time."

"It's okay. Give me just a minute and we'll get back."

Jho came over and Zeb extended a hand. "You know this guy?" the Ithorian asked.

"Yeah. He's new on Hera's crew."

"How **is** my favorite Captain?" Jho asked. He knew Hera from all the times that she'd shown up to collect Zeb, right after they first met.

"She's good. We're really interested in in helping your friend. It's right down her alley."

"Come on." The Ithorian motioned Zeb to the little kitchen.

"Be right back," Zeb said to Kanan, then followed the Ithorian.

When they entered the small kitchen, Zeb found the girl sitting on a chair in the corner. The girl was thin, with a wary look like Ezra when they'd first taken him in. She was wiry, too, with a pointed face surrounded by purple and orange hair. She wore partial armor, leg plates and body plates, but the armor plates were missing on her arm and shoulder. Her face was battered as well; one of her cheekbones had a scuff and the area under her eye was bruised. Zeb realized with admiration that she was a fighter. By the fire in her eyes, he realized that the abuse she'd suffered at the hands of the Empire and not broken her, only made her angry. And anger at the Empire, that was something Zeb understood and knew how to help with.

She stood in a fighting stance, glaring at Zeb until she saw Jho enter. Only then did she relax.

"Sabine. This is my friend, Zeb." Jho said. "Zeb, this is Sabine Wren."

She dropped her fists, eyed Zeb for a beat, then extended a hand to the Lasat, and grasped him by the forearm to shake. It was a warrior's handshake, which he returned appraisingly. "My name's Zeb Orellios. So you're the escaped Academy student."

She nodded. "I still have two friends in there. Wedge and Hobbie. I've got to go back in and get them out."

"That's exactly what my Captain has in mind to do. We'd appreciate anything you could tell us."

"Okay," she agreed, cocking her head to the side. "Jho says that you guys fight the local bucketheads. That true?"

Zeb laughed. "Every chance we get. Will you come back with me and meet Hera? Our ship is just a bit outside of the city."

"Laying low?"

"Yeah. We're no favorites of the Empire around here." Zeb scratched his beard thoughtfully. "I imagine we've fouled up more than a few of their plans."

"Okay, let's go. What else do I have to lose?" Sabine's grin said she was ready to tangle, and Zeb grinned in return.

"Let me get my friend Kanan, and we'll head back. Hera's going to want to talk with you."

* * *

Kanan only remembered the trip back to the Ghost in bits and pieces; the smell of grass blowing in the wind, the spray of stars above them, the way the Force shimmered in the edges of his vision. With Zeb's help, he climbed the ladder to the upper level of the Ghost.

They entered the common area and Hera was heading toward them from the cockpit. She started toward Kanan, but stopped short of embracing him. "You okay?" she asked simply, laying a hand on his arm.

He nodded. "Sorry if I worried you..."

"Just let us know next time, okay?" She turned her gaze to the young girl with them. She offered her hand. "My name's Hera Syndulla."

"Sabine. Sabine Wren." the Mandalorian girl gave her a tentative smile as she placed her hand in the Twi'lek's firm grip.

"Have a seat." She gestured to the seating around the dejarik table. She looked over her shoulder at Kanan. "You too." He went to one of the surrounding chairs, then sat down slowly, taking extra care. He must have really hit it hard, she thought. Sabine slid into the booth across from him.

Hera came back with a large glass of water, placing it into Kanan's hands. "Drink this. Then you head to bed. We need you up and moving tomorrow."

He smiled at her and saluted. "Yes, Captain."

Sabine watched this scene, feeling herself relax a little around all these new people when she saw how Hera looked after them. She'd been a little worried even trusting the bartender, but she'd pretty much been out of options. The big friendly Lasat and his drunken friend had seemed safe, somehow, so she'd agreed to come with them. If they could help her save her friends...she would be glad to take the risk.

"Sabine, can I get you anything?" The Twi'lek asked, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, uh… no thank you," she shook her head, and Hera slid into a nearby seat, looking at Sabine more closely, noticing the cuts and bruises she wore. On her unarmored arm, Hera could see angry looking marks on the girl's flesh. The injection marks there reminded her of Ezra when they'd first taken him on and she felt her heart twist. This Inquisitor had to be stopped.

"Let me get our med kit..." Hera asked. "That looks pretty bad."

Zeb and Hera shared a look that reminded both of them of Ezra and what he went through in the hands of the Inquisitor. "Got it." Zeb said, heading down the corridor.

"Jho had some supplies. He patched me up the best he could, so I'm ok. But my friends, Wedge and Hobbie won't be feeling that way if they stay in that Inquistior's hands very long."

Hera forced herself to stop thinking about Ezra. "The Empire's going to transport them to the core late tomorrow night. We have to get them out before then." Hera said, her eyes drifting to Kanan, who had finished half the glass of water. He was staring into the glass as he listened to them speak. "Our plan is to wait until day, put surveillance on the Imperials and attack under cover of darkness. If you could give us some specs on the place, it would make things a lot easier."

Zeb arrived back with the med kit. Hera began cleaning Sabine's wounds while the older teen told them about the complex.

"The place is four levels tall. Level one is mostly administration offices, I think. Level two is quarters for . . .everyone not a stormtrooper. Trooper quarters are in a separate building in the back, at least that's the impression I got when we arrived. Level three is the detention level, and four...I think that's where they take the special prisoners...it's outfitted with isolation cells and interrogation rooms." She shuddered, but whether from the cleaning of her wounds or the memories it was impossible to tell. "That's where we were held."

"Ok, that's enough for now." Hera said, putting away her supplies. "You need to rest. I'm going to put you in Kanan's room tonight. He can bunk in one of the other rooms. Can you get his bag, Zeb?"

"Sure. I'll be right back." Zeb ducked into Kanan's room and came out with his stuff.

"Take the top bunk." Hera said, getting up and leading Sabine to where Zeb had come out. "We'll see you in the morning, okay? You need anything, I'm right next door."

She nodded. "Thank you. Jho said I could trust you."

Hera smiled. "You can. We'll rescue your friends. See you in the morning."

The door slid closed and Hera turned to see Kanan, sitting at the table with his head propped on one hand. "I got this Zeb. Go ahead and get some sleep. You did good." She turned her gaze up to the Lasat's green eyes.

"Thanks. Want me to take the big guy with me?"

"No. I need to talk to him. I'm probably not going to get much sleep anyway, so I can keep an eye on him. Go on."

Zeb put a hand on her shoulder as he always did when she had a hard job in front of her. "You need me, just call."

She nodded as he headed off to his room. Then she turned her gaze back to Kanan, still at the table. "Hey." She asked softly, kneeling beside him and seeing his eyes had closed. She gave him a gentle shake. "Let's get you to bed, okay?"

His eyes opened on her. "Okay." She got him to stand up and he turned toward his own room.

"Not that way. I let Sabine stay in there, just for tonight. We're in my room." She saw him slowly realize and grin. He opened his mouth to say something and she stopped him, "Say one word about it and you can sleep outside with the rest of the nerfs." She raised an eyebrow. They were parked in a field, after all.

He shut his mouth and pressed his lips together. She nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

She led him in and deposited him on the lower bed because she knew he might have trouble climbing to the upper bunk. As she pulled off his boots and set them beside his bag, she struggled with how to ask him what was going on without seeming as if she were prying, but he saved her the trouble.

"Hera. I'm sorry." He began.

She climbed up and sat beside him. "What made you run out of here like that?" she asked in a quiet voice. Kanan struggled for several moments, head down. Then he spoke in a soft voice. "It was the Force. It told me to train Ezra as a Jedi. I...I left because I couldn't think about that right now." He checked her eyes. "It didn't want to leave the idea alone...It felt like it was pulling me...into pieces."

She frowned, and moved closer to him when she saw the struggle on his features. "Did running help?" She took his hand into her own.

He nodded, whispering, "A little while."

She leaned into him, feeling his loneliness. "It's okay," she soothed. He melted against her, just the way she hoped he would. "Don't forget you have us," she offered. "You're not alone anymore."

In one way she was right. But in another, she was wrong. He was the last Padawan in the galaxy, or at least the last one as far as he knew. It was a lonely feeling.

* * *

It was almost morning when Kanan felt the warm whisper of the Force, gently pulling him from sleep.

He and Hera had dozed off together, on the lower bunk, and his arm had encircled her in sleep. Being cold, she had snugged up against him under the plain green blanket. He took a deep breath of her, smelling the sweet and slightly floral scent of her soap, mixed with engine grease. It was perfectly her, and therefore perfect. His breath brushed her lek, and she stirred slightly and murmured something incomprehensible, then snuggled back to sleep.

He heard a soft sound that brought him completely awake, although he couldn't tell completely what it had been. He listened and it came again, this time sounding more like a sob. He removed his arm gingerly from Hera's waist, and slowly moved off the bed, toward the door, extending his senses all about him in all directions, using the Force.

 _Caleb..._ It was his old name, whispered in the Force. It was _her_ voice, his master's, coming from the darkness in front of him, as clear as if _she_ were right beside him. There was no way he could refuse her call.

He moved into the darkness outside the door.

* * *

Hera was awoken by the cold space where the warmth of Kanan's body had been. She sat up in bed, looking around the room in the semi-darkness, and saw his tall form standing by the door.

"Kanan?" She called. "What's wrong?"

He stood there silently, his head tilted at an angle, as if he were listening for something. He stretched up a hand and the door swished open. He took a step into the hallway, and before she could call him again, he fell against the doorframe and slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you for all the reviews last chapter. It was the most reviews for a chapter that this story's had so far. I appreciate everything. Please see the end for an author's note.

Oh! I almost forgot...there is some violence in this chapter. Kanan has another vision of Ezra in the Pau'an's hands. Let's just say a beating is involved, so if you don't wanna see that, please skip this chapter.

* * *

10.

Hera wasn't fast enough to catch him, and the thud of his body hitting the floor made her feel sick. She turned him over gently, cradling his head and searching for any wounds, but he hadn't physically hurt himself. "Kanan?" she called into his face softly. With care, she lifted an eyelid, and saw that his eyes had rolled back into his head so that just a hint of his blue-green irises was visible. She felt him tremble in her arms, then she looked up to see Ezra's worried face.

"What happened?" Ezra whispered, kneeling down with Hera.

"I don't know. He got up and just passed out." She felt his forehead, and it was cold, but sweaty at the same time.

"I knew something was wrong." Ezra murmured. "I don't know how, but I knew." He could see that there was no blood or other sign of trauma. He wondered if he could somehow duplicate the way they had talked to each other during training that morning. "Let me try something."

"Anything." Hera said, softly.

Ezra closed his eyes, took some relaxing breaths and then began to try and touch the Force. It glowed with a roseate light that seemed to move around him and through him. When he bent his gaze on Kanan, the Force shone like a small sun, as bright as a supernova. The Light was so bright that it cut through his thoughts like a well-honed knife, causing him to let out a little cry and disconnect from the Force completely.

"It's so...it's so bright." Ezra shook his head as he sat back. He looked up at Hera's questioning gaze. "The Force. It's all around him."

* * *

He was alone in the darkness, but not alone; there were presences in the Force around him. Different voices were murmuring words he couldn't make out. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, looking for one particular voice, and the noises began to quiet as forms took shape around him.

 _Ezra_.

In front of him, the boy sat on his heels, knees bent underneath him and his eyes downcast. His hands rested placidly on his legs, as if he were relaxed, but tears tracked down his face.

He was older, with very short hair and a fresh, jagged wound, the type that would leave a scar, trailed from his hairline down the right side of his face. He was dressed in some sort of black uniform with dark gray armor. Ezra was painfully thin, with dark circles under his eyes that spoke of unimaginable sleepless nights.

He wasn't reaching for the light side of the Force; the cold, angry fire of the dark lit his churning thoughts. After long moments, the tall, thin figure of the Pau'an, came into view. The creature was dressed similarly to Ezra and was holding a lightsaber with a strange circular guard in his hand. With no warning, he used it to strike Ezra on the side of the head and the boy slumped to the floor. Kanan tried to move forward to do something...anything...but all he found he could do was watch, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Blood from the wound began dripping down the side of Ezra's face as the stunned child tried to right himself.

" _When meditation doesn't help, perhaps pain will motivate you, apprentice_." There was a pleased glow in the Pau'an's yellow eyes at the way Ezra struggled.

He looked up and Kanan felt sick to see Ezra's expression filled with angry hatred. _"_ _I can't do it._ _I won't."_

" _The Lasat and Twi'lek will die by your own hand, or you will die at mine._ _To become what you were meant to become, you must sever all ties to your past."_

Tears coursed down Ezra's cheeks and he moaned. " _I can't…. The light...it's so strong...they're my family-"_

The Grand Inquisitor backhanded him, splitting his lip. Pain and anger glowed in Ezra's eyes, as he was hit again, this time with the Pau'an's fist.

" _Let the pain instruct you_." The Inquisitor said, a hungry look on his face. Kanan could see that the blood excited the Inquisitor, feeding the dark monster slithering and writhing in his soul. It was greasy and nauseating, making the air around them thick with dark side energies.

 _No. No. No._ Kanan shook his head. The innocence of the kid he'd come to know was now gone. Ezra's brave, strong soul had been replaced by this hollow shell that hovered on the edge of unspeakable evil. He could feel Ezra's fear...his hopelessness...his utter exhaustion.

He tried to reach for Ezra again, but couldn't. This was an only an image of the future.

Clear and strong, he heard Depa Billaba speak to him for the first time in fifteen years, her words heavy with meaning. " _The Pau'an planted seeds of fear which will grow wild in this fertile soil._ _They will bear poisoned fruit, my Padawan."_ A brilliance began to gather on the side of his vision.

His heart stopped. _"_ _No..."_ he whispered.

 _"_ _Yes,"_ she replied sadly.

The light continued to converge on the edge of Kanan's vision until he felt her beside him. She stood on the margin of Kanan's vision, dressed in her brown Jedi robes. He would see her if he but turned his head, her dark hair woven into thick braids and golden marks of illumination on her brow. And he also knew that seeing her would break something in him. He couldn't bear it.

The Inquisitor continued to beat Ezra until he fell to the floor. The creature began kicking the boy, and then pulled out the fire whip. At that, Ezra finally raised a hand helplessly. _"_ _Please,"_ he cried, tears mixing with the blood coating his face. " _Please..."_ Crimson dripped from his swelling lip and he licked it, grimacing at the taste. Ezra's eyes glowed yellow with mingled fear and hatred as he glared at the Pau'an. Kanan stepped forward again but was stopped by an iron grip on his shoulder.

" _Watch_ ," she said.

Disgust rolled off of the Inquisitor. " _Give in to your anger._ _Use it._ _You know where their cells are. Finish them both_."

Ezra stood up woodenly, trembling. The Inquisitor shoved him toward the door as he tried to gain his footing and Ezra fell against it, his hand leaving a bloody smear. " _I can't_..." he cried helplessly.

" _You will find that you can._ " The Pau'an said as he pushed Ezra out of the door and the scene dissolved as if washed away by water and Kanan was then alone, with the spectre of his long-dead master standing at his side.

His voice was a strangled sob. _"_ _This can't happen, it can't."_ He kept his eyes downcast. The warmth of her Force-signature shone beside him, but still, he dared not look. The Master-Padawan bond between them was renewed and he marveled at the sensation; he'd never thought he would feel it again.

 _"_ _He needs your guidance,"_ she urged. " _Without it, he will fall, Caleb, and he will take others with him."_

He struggled to argue, his face turned away, but his words became slippery. " _I...can't._ _I failed you._ _I'll fail him."_

" _You failed me?_ " she asked, the hint of a sad smile in her voice. When he didn't answer, she reached out her hand and placed it against his cheek. Her skin was warm and alive. " _Caleb._ _How could you ever fail me_?"

Kanan turned, then, still not looking at her, looking down, but seeing her hand reaching up to grasp him by the shoulder. " _I shouldn't have left...I should have been by your side._ _I should have...stayed by your side until...until the end._ " His last words were barely audible.

" _No, Caleb._ _Don't..._ " And then he was wrapped in her embrace. He clung to her as if no time had passed at all, and he was still her fourteen year old charge. " _Let this guilt go, Padawan._ _You are not to blame._ "

" _I'm so sorry_." He mumbled into the rough brown fabric of her Jedi robes, but she understood despite his tears.

" _No need to regret anything._ _Oh, Caleb...You were so young... too young to be fighting a war_." She held him tightly until his tears slowed. " _I'm afraid I wasn't very good at non-attachment, for I loved you so, my youngling_." Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, they parted. " _Look at me, Padawan,_ " she waited for him to raise his gaze. " _Do not_ _question what the Force has decreed._ _This is my last lesson to you._ _There is no point wishing for_ _ **what was.**_ _There is only_ _ **what is**_ _._ _You cannot let him fall to the dark side, my Padawan. You have been standing in the same place for a long time._ _It's time to find your path again."_

 _"_ _You...you don't understand…"_ _He lowered his gaze, embarrassed._ _"_ _I've not…not been much of a Jedi._ _I've lost my way."_

 _"_ _And you will find it again."_ The glow of her Force signature began to overwhelm her form and he knew she was fading, being diffused by the Force, incorporated back into its fullness again. "Trust yourself, but above all, trust in the Force." The light was fading and the warmth of their bond began to fade as well, until all that was left was a feeling of emptiness.

* * *

He came back to consciousness slowly with Hera was holding his head in her lap. He was squinting, his eyes still overwhelmed with the light he'd seen in his Master's Force signature.

"Hi." Hera gave him a worried smile, smoothing his sweaty hair back from his face. He sat up, feeling overwhelmed. His mouth worked, but he couldn't find the right words, and so shook his head and said nothing. He reached up and scrubbed at his face, which he found to be wet with tears.

"Kanan?" Ezra's voice came from his left side and held a note of panic.

Kanan had a terrifying second where he thought he was going to turn his head and see Ezra's blue eyes turned yellow. When he looked, however, the kid was the same as he always was. Ezra's bright blue eyes looked full of worry, but otherwise he was okay. Kanan reached out and brushed his fingertips over Ezra's forehead where the scar had been in the vision.

Ezra looked to Hera, who gave a bewildered shrug. Before he could look back to Kanan, the former Jedi swiftly enfolded the kid in his arms and held him tightly. "You okay?" Ezra managed after a moment. "Getting hard to breathe…"

The vision he'd experienced had hit him again and had caused him to clutch Ezra more tightly. The vision seemed to repeat itself entirely in his senses...the smells of blood, tears, terror and despair as the Pau'an tried to force Ezra to. . .to do the unthinkable. With a monumental effort, Kanan released his grip on the boy. "Sorry...I'm f-fine," he murmured.

"It's okay." As Ezra spoke, Kanan looked over at him, like he wanted to grab onto him again and

never let him go.

"What happened, love?" Hera reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Bad...dream." He shook his head. "I really can't remember." _Lying again._ He wanted to tell them everything, but how? How could he tell Ezra what he saw this time...this time it was so much worse than the last time. "I just overdid it, I guess." He mumbled.

"Kanan, I looked, using the Force, when you were out and . . .I saw a brilliant light—like looking into the sun. It's gotta be something more than just a dream." Ezra leaned in.

Kanan shifted uncomfortably.

"Kanan…" Hera said, "Tell us what's wrong. You have to talk to someone."

He looked from Hera to Ezra. "What we need to focus on is the mission today...not worrying about some bad dream." He got to his feet slowly, wavering a little. "We can...we can talk about this later..."

Hera's voice stopped him at her door. "Kanan, don't." He could sense her draw near. He put his forehead against the cold metal of the door and closed his eyes.

"Hera...Ezra...I can't. Right now, I can't," his breath was harsh, as if he was in physical pain.

Ezra stood up and went over to him. "It's okay," he said simply. Without any other words, he reached up and gave Kanan a one-armed hug. Slowly, the former Jedi returned the gesture, then Ezra turned and shared a look with Hera before he left for his room.

When Hera finally did approach, Kanan turned to look at her, his eyes dark and wild like some untamable creature that was sure to startle and flee at her approach. "Come here," she said softly, holding out her arms and coming in close.

He took a few steps forward and was wrapped in her embrace. When she put her arms around him, she could feel him shivering; his skin was cold. They stayed that way a long time, holding each other, until his shivering intensified so much that, without words, she led him to the fresher. He was tired, she could feel it in every movement, and therefore was compliant with her direction.

She reached in and started the water warming up. They had just been at the spaceport, so the Ghost's tanks had plenty of water for a hot shower.

She checked his eyes and watched his face as she reached down to the hem of his shirt. He didn't balk when she lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it nearby.

Despite her worry over his mental state, she couldn't help but notice Kanan's body and the scars that it held. There were two blaster wounds, long since healed, on his side and several other scars she couldn't identify. As the steam thickened in the fresher, she couldn't help but brush over them with her fingers. He jerked away slightly as the touch of her hand startled him, but then he leaned into her warm caress.

"B-battle w-wounds from...the w-war," he murmured in explanation, his teeth still chattering.

She tried to imagine how old he must have been and then realized he had only been a little older than when she first met him. "You were young," she murmured, her words echoing his master's.

She looked up, as if asking for permission as her hands trailed down to his grey pants. He caught both her hands in his own. She could feel him trembling.

"You've caught a chill," she said, leaning in to push them down as she kept her eyes leveled on his. She smiled teasingly at him. "Don't worry. I won't look."

"You're gonna be the death of me, Hera Syndulla," he breathed as her hands brushed down his hips. He kicked the rest of the clothes off, but never looked away from her shining green eyes.

"Probably. But only after you warm up in there." She gestured to the shower. He held her gaze until he found the fresher door with his hand. When he turned to get in, she looked, catching a glimpse of his perfectly formed backside. Heat from within flushed her cheeks. Force! He was going to kill her, more likely, she thought with a flash of desire. "I'll...bring you some clothes." It was best to get out of here while she still could…before she did something that they'd both be sorry for later. He was in a vulnerable state and the last thing she wanted to do was to take advantage of that.

"T-thanks." He replied, gratefully slipping under the hot water as she left. As he began to warm up and his shivering slowed, his thoughts seemed to slow down too. The vision of Ezra and the Inquisitor had been terrifying, but the calm came when he realized he'd die before he'd allow it to happen. Thinking of training Ezra…that was for later. Being distracted wouldn't help them all come back safely, he thought as he worked the soap through his hair. And they all had to come back safely. All of them.

* * *

When he came back into Hera's room, towel wrapped around his waist, he saw her sitting on the bed, looking down into his bag, her face twisted with sadness.

"Hera?" he asked softly. He looked down into the bag when he was close enough to see it and he realized she was looking down at the two pieces of his lightsaber. She was holding a shirt in her hand that she had gotten for him, but apparently she'd been stopped at the sight.

"It's the same one?" she whispered, looking up at him.

"Yeah," he reached past it, pulling out sleep pants. He didn't know how long it was until morning, but the sleep pants would be warm. The vision seemed to have left a chill that kept returning. He slipped them on under the towel, then pulled the towel off to rub over his damp hair before he found a dark gray shirt to pull over his head.

"It got broken?" she asked sadly.

"No," he shook his head, reaching down to take the two pieces in his hands and click them together. It was the first time he'd held his reassembled lightsaber for a long time. He stepped back and engaged the blade. It glowed an effervescent blue that was somehow comforting. "It's harder to recognize it as a lightsaber when it's in two pieces. I always wondered why the Force led me to make it so that it could be broken down like that." He turned the saber in his hand, watching as the blade lit up the room and hummed. At one time, this weapon had been his life.

She looked at him, thinking he was also in two pieces: his life as a Jedi and his life in hiding trying to survive. Somehow he had to find a way to put the two halves back together again, but it wasn't proving to be an easy task for him.

He reluctantly disengaged the blade and broke it back down into two parts. He sat down beside Hera, still holding the pieces in his hands and turning them over and over. "Guess the Force knew what was coming."

"What happened tonight?" she asked softly.

"A vision," he answered her. "It…it was bad. I…I think I saw Ezra fall to the dark side." He held back the rest of the truth—what the Inquisitor was trying to make Ezra do to her and Zeb. "This...this was more vivid than the push from the Force." He swallowed hard, feeling his mouth go dry. "The P...Pau'an will take Ezra as his apprentice unless he's taught to be a Jedi." He clicked the two pieces of the saber back together again.

Hera's vivid green went pale. "Kanan..." she began. "He's just a kid…"

He shook his head, reaching out to take her hand with his free one. "I won't let it happen. No matter what."

He placed the saber back in his bag, then laid down. Hera curled up next to him, the heat of her body pushing away the last of the chill. The sensation of convergence came again, of all paths leading into one. There was only one choice to be made, one road to take. Maybe it had always been that way. Maybe it was time to stop standing still.

* * *

A/N: I had to rewrite the vision scene twice because I lost it to some strange computer glitch. I hope it still comes across okay. The second thing is the admission by Depa Billaba that she loved Caleb. I know Jedi don't have attachments, but it made sense to me for several reasons. Number one, it seemed to fit because of what I read in the comics. You can really feel the affection she seems to have for her young charge. Also, to me, Depa seems like she would bend the Jedi rules, at least as much as she could if the situation required. Number three, she is disdainful of some of the Council's decisions during the graphic novels. And lastly, she has moved on to become one with the Force, which gives her a fuller understanding of the universe far, far differently than the Jedi ever had. I see that she has risen above the "rules" of the Jedi to become something more.

I hope you enjoyed!

Next up: planning and execution of the rescue! Sabine gets to know our favorite space family. Oh...and another cliffhanger, if everything goes right.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hi! I'm starting to write the big fight scene, but I thought I would post these scenes to get the anticipation going. The site has been doing some weird things and hasn't sent out any notifications when I first posted this on Friday. Support has not helped, so I'm going to try and repost one last time. So if you're one of my regular readers, and you get a notification, please let me know they are working again. :)

* * *

11.

It was a few hours later; Ezra was standing with Hera, helping her make breakfast, when she mentioned Sabine. "Zeb found the escaped student last night, so we've got some detailed intel on the inside of the Imperial complex."

"How did that happen? How come nobody told me?"

Hera smiled while she flipped the flat cakes. "Because you were asleep when she got here, and then well, we had Kanan to worry about."

He nodded, then turned to get the plate for the first stack of flat cakes. "So how did Zeb find her? Did she just show up here, or something?"

"Zeb got a comm from Jho. Believe it or not, that old Ithorian rescued her and had her at the cantina. She's asleep in Kanan's room."

"Not anymore."

Ezra turned to see a teenage girl, just a little taller than him, standing in the common area, one hand on her hip. She was dressed like a warrior, but in partial armor. And she was beautiful. Not just pretty, but stunning. As he walked over, he smiled at her. "Hi. I'm Ezra."

"Sabine." She fixed him with her liquid brown eyes, extended her hand, and shook his own. She looked to Hera, then back to Ezra. "Thank you for helping me. I know you don't know me, or Wedge or Hobbie, but I really appreciate it."

Ezra blushed. "It's nothing. We help people all the time." He felt suddenly self-conscious as he realized that he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. His jacket and fingerless gloves were in his room, so the scar on his arm was clearly visible to Sabine. Normally he hid the ugly thing…besides reminding him of things better forgotten, it made people ask questions that he didn't want to answer. He swallowed hard and hesitated between leaving to pull on his jacket on or staying where he was.

"Sabine? Would you like some breakfast?" Hera saw the way Ezra placed his arm behind his back and it made her heart clench for the kid. Sabine had said nothing about it, and Hera hoped she wouldn't.

"Yeah, I'm starved." She nodded.

"Take a seat. Ezra? You think you could finish this round of flat cakes while I check Sabine's wounds over?"

He nodded, taking over with the turner. He finished up the food, listening. Sabine and Hera spoke as she got out the medkit.

"So. Are you guys with the Rebellion?" Sabine tilted her head to the side as Hera examined the bruising on her neck.

"Yes, in a way." Hera answered. "We're a rebel cell. There are others across the Rim. We're not as organized as much as I'd like, but it's coming along."

"What you do, it's amazing." She looked from Hera to Ezra, who was coming over to the table with plates. Hera had the girl sitting in front of her, with her arm outstretched on the table while Hera applied bacta.

"Did the Imperials do that?" Ezra asked, concern in his eyes, as he set the stack of plates in the middle of the table.

"Yeah. One in particular." Sabine gave a half smile that turned into a hiss of pain as Hera dabbed the medicine on an abrasion on her wrist. "When I get my hands on that Pau'an, I'm gonna pay him back, plus interest."

Ezra's eyes flashed to Hera's, then Ezra looked back at Sabine, seeing the bruises and scuffs on her face. She was tough, and you couldn't tell how badly she was hurt by the way she was acting, but the evidence was there, plain to be seen. "Was…was he called an Inquisitor?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah." She looked up with surprise. "You know him? That kriffing son-of-a-bantha?"

"We had a run in before." Ezra said, sitting down heavily in the booth. "He…he did this…" He held up his hand and arm.

Hera paused a moment as she was packing up the medkit. Her glance flashed from Ezra to Sabine and she held her breath.

Sabine's eyes took in the thick scarring on his arm and her face softened for the barest fraction of a second. Then a conspiratorial look crossed her face. "What do you say we kriff up his day?" She reached out and squeezed his hand briefly.

Ezra nodded, caught by the fine features of her face, her short, multi-colored hair and deep brown eyes. He didn't realize it then, but later on, he knew that this was the moment he'd fallen in love. Her grin when she spoke next was contagious. "You guys got any explosives?"

* * *

"What about this guy?" Zeb whispered from his side of the roof as they watched a blond, burly-looking human get out of a shuttle and make his way into the Imperial HQ.

"Kallus." Sabine growled the name. "ISB officer. Smarter than your average buckethead, but still dumb," she shook her head. "He wasn't around when I escaped. He was in the first interrogation, then I think they called him to the fleet stationed above Lothal.… Has his own platoon of stormtroopers. Likes to be involved in ops personally."

"Tough guy, huh?" Zeb said.

"He's nothing compared to the Grand Inquisitor. I mean Kallus knows how to get the answers he wants, but he's a little less...sadistic, let's say," she shuddered. "That doesn't make him a nice guy, though." She paused, then continued. "How long you been fighting them?" Sabine asked, settling her back against the wall while Zeb continued to watch.

"Since I met Hera after the fall of Lasan." Zeb watched the trooper patrol around the complex. Two soldiers at the door, and four made their way around the perimeter every fifteen minutes. Not too many for them to take on. "I lost everyone I ever knew. I can't bring them back, but I can make sure it doesn't happen again by fighting the Empire," he said, his mouth set in a grim line.

Sabine nodded slowly, remembering what they'd heard at the Academy about the clearing of Zeb's planet. It marked the first time she'd really begun to doubt what the Empire was doing. "I remember hearing about it. I'm sorry." She reached out and laid a hand upon his arm for a moment.

Zeb's green eyes looked kindly on her before he turned back to the complex. "So what's your story, kit?"

"It's the same I guess as the rest of you all. Part of what I was being trained to do was to build weapons. Weapons that were to be used on Mandalore…on my people. I just couldn't do it anymore, and I wanted to leave but no one at home was on my side. I met Hobbie and Wedge when they were on a special assignment at the academy on Mandalore. After talking, we all realized that we wanted out. I made a plan, and Wedge flew us out of there in a stolen shuttle. We ditched it on some no-named planet, but when we caught a transport to Ylix, we were identified and captured. They split us up when we were brought to Lothal. Agent Muttonchops took a crack at us, and I guess he wasn't as successful as quickly as they wanted, so they brought in a specialist."

"That Inquisitor guy."

She nodded. "We were trying to get in touch with the rebellion the whole time we were on the run, but every lead we had seemed to go nowhere. Guess that was a good thing because the Inquisitor couldn't get any information out of us to compromise anyone." She shivered at the memory and ran her hands up and down her arms, glad for the long-sleeved shirt that Hera had loaned her as a replacement for her ripped and bloody one.

"Hera has a contact, so she will get you to the rebellion." Zeb said confidently. "We just have to get them out of there, then you guys will be home free."

Sabine turned to peer over the wall they were hiding behind, then scanned the top floor windows. "I hope we can. They're the only friends I have left."

"Well, now you got us too." Zeb placed a warm paw on her shoulder. "If anyone can get them out, we can, kit. Let's go take a look at the back of this place."

* * *

It was the heat of midday, and Ezra was sitting on the ramp in the shade of the _Ghost_. His mind had been buzzing with anxiety ever since breakfast, but working on his. . .whatever it was, was helping him focus. It was going to be some type of a blaster, but …more than that. He had fit together plasma cells and energy modulation circuits, along with a few other components, but he knew there was something missing. He was just puzzling over it when Kanan climbed down the ladder and took a seat beside him and his box of parts.

"Hera said it's time to eat soon."

"I'm not really hungry." Ezra glanced up, then back down at his creation.

He was reaching into the parts box to pull another component when Kanan asked him, "You sure about the mission tonight? No one would blame you if you stayed on the _Ghost_ with Hera. Not one bit." The Twi'lek and Ezra had had a heated discussion about Ezra's involvement with the mission that morning after breakfast and after Zeb and Sabine had left. Ezra wanted to go, while Hera was worried for him. Especially if they ran into the Inquisitor, which was a distinct possibility.

"I don't want to go, but I think that might be the reason I need to go," he said simply, looking up. "That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"No, it does." Kanan said, meeting Ezra's eyes. "Just don't rush too fast to your fears, however, before you're ready." "You're with me during the mission, tonight ok? I promised Hera I'd look out for you."

"Okay. Uh…Kanan…what if we do see the Inquisitor?" Ezra said, trying hard to keep his voice level. He was pretending to look intently at his creation as he spoke.

"If we do, I'll deal with him. I'm coming prepared." He detached the pieces of his lightsaber from his belt and clicked them together. He held up the saber for Ezra's inspection.

"Wow." Ezra said. "Can I hold it?"

Kanan switched the saber to training mode for the kid and then handed it to him. "Be careful. There's the activation button."

Ezra stood, took a few steps back and held out the sword as he ignited the blade. "Woah," he said softly, swinging it slightly. After a moment, he disengaged the blade and looked at it thoughtfully before handing it back. "Do you…do you miss it? Being... a Jedi?"

Kanan looked at the saber in his hand, thinking about the night before and the vision of his master. "Sometimes I miss it. I miss the people I lost," he admitted softly to himself.

Ezra felt a sudden flood of sorrow as Kanan spoke, almost as if it were a tangible thing he could touch. "Your Master?" He sat back down beside Kanan.

"Yeah. Especially her." His voice was a little hoarse and he didn't meet Ezra's eyes as he looked down at his lightsaber. Abruptly he disassembled it to attach it to his belt.

"I'm sorry." Ezra whispered. "I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's fine. It's easier to talk about than I thought it would be."

"Why?"

"I've spent a lot of time alone. I used to think things were better that way, but I'm starting to realize I was wrong."

"What was she like?"

"Master Billaba?" He tilted his head to the side, thinking. "She was tall, and beautiful, a Chalactan woman with brown hair and brown eyes. She was tough on me when I needed it and trained me well. And she was on the Jedi Council. When I was a Padawan, I thought she knew everything." He paused as he thought for a moment. "If she didn't know something, she would always be truthful. Force knows I asked her enough questions." He smiled to himself, then something occurred to him and he grew sad again, his eyes looking far away. Again, Ezra could feel the swell of emotion coming off of Kanan in waves.

Ezra waited a moment, then when he saw that Kanan wasn't going to say anymore, he spoke softly. "What…what is it?"

Kanan turned away and it was as if a blast door came down between them. He had hidden everything behind it, locked away tightly once more. "For another time." He reached out and placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Sabine and Zeb commed and said they were on their way back. Let's get something to eat and make our final plans for tonight."

* * *

Next up: Kanan and Ezra face the Pau'an. It should make for some great drama!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hi all. Not much time to write as I am headed to chaperone a prom. Sigh. Please comment and keep me entertained while I watch teenagers party down. Let's hope the notification goes out correctly this time! They didn't go out last time, so if you have been counting on alerts from the site you probably MISSED CHAPTER 11! *sad face*. You will probably want to go back and catch up if that's the case! I hope this chapter is good...this is the big fight at the Imperial complex-so LOTS of action in store...but first...a trip back in time to the days of the Jedi Temple, to learn an important lesson from Master Billaba.

* * *

12.

Then

"Halt." Depa stepped between Caleb and his opponent, Tai Uzuma. She narrowed her eyes at her Padawan as she looked down at him sprawled on the floor, and he felt a blush creep into his cheeks. "Explain to me why you are now disemboweled and dead on the floor."

Caleb bit his bottom lip. "I used Djem So. I thought it best to surprise and beat my opponent early in the match." Okay, that wasn't entirely true. He'd gone with Form V's aggressiveness because he was angry with Tai and wanted to beat her quickly, in front of an audience for what she'd said earlier about Master Billaba.

"Are you in a hurry, Padawan Dume?" She arched an eyebrow as she watched him pick himself back up off of the floor. Stalling, he reached to the left and called his lightsaber from where it had been flung when he'd taken the hit and avoided her eyes.

Caleb bowed his head, not knowing exactly how to answer as the silent pressure built. "No, Master. Um…I believe I let my emotions become involved." He finally admitted, his face coloring a deeper red. There were several titters from the crowd of older younglings and watching Padawans. A stern look from Billaba produced immediate silence in the practice room. That woman could silence a whole hall of Padawans, just like Master Windu, Caleb thought.

"And how would that help you in battle, Padawan? Why not use Soresu? Or Niman? Do you plan on just muscling your way through the war?"

"Soresu seemed too defensive. It…it…"

"It's the way of a coward? A sign of fear, perhaps?" His eyes snapped up to her, and the expression in her face let Caleb know that she'd heard Uzuma's remarks earlier.

 _Yeah, Billaba's damaged goods. Of course, she'd favor Form III…protect herself at any cost. They say she's never got over losing that battle to Grevious._

Caleb felt his ears go red as he remembered what Uzuma had said. Then he watched with satisfaction as Depa's eyes moved to Uzuma pointedly. The Jedi Master raised an eyebrow, chastising the girl. "Perhaps others here believe that certain combat forms are not useful, or some are more useful than others? Hmm. That would be a foolish thought. Let's take Form III. Perhaps we should see what use the Way of the Mynock can be, Padawans."

Billaba drew her lightsaber and set it to training mode. "Caleb, Uzuma and Quid." Caleb's fellow students stepped forward. "I will only use Form III. Attack me. Whatever form or combination you wish." She gestured casually, her lips curved in a smile.

Uzuma grinned darkly and somersaulted toward Billaba, taking several long sweeping strikes with the motion of a punch, and she was promptly deflected. Quid tried Shien too and was also beat back with a series of tight, coiled parries.

Caleb tried using Niman, and as Quid and Uzuma began another attack, he stayed at a distance, using his saber in a series of shallow slices. She defended against all of them with a serene smile on her face. As minutes passed, Quid and Uzuma began to tire out. Quid's footwork got sloppy and he went down quickly. "That was your leg," Depa called placidly. Uzuma struggled, overextending herself in a wild attack. "And that's your head," Billaba narrowed her eyes at the girl as her lightsaber struck her in the neck.

Then it was just Dume and Billaba, trading blows and parries back and forth. The longer they fought, the more tired Caleb became. This was his fifth match of the day, and his saber seemed to weigh as much as a speeder. "Form III allows you to defend and protect while allowing your opponent to tire themselves out. Tired opponents make mistakes." Billaba shifted her eyes to her Padawan's peers.

Caleb grunted as her blade found its mark. She gave him a brief moment to recover. "Again."

This time her Padawan lasted only a few minutes before a blow hit his sword arm. He sank to the floor, trying to catch his breath and rubbing his arm where the painful shock had landed.

Billaba took in the three younglings. "Each form has its own merits. You would do well to shun none of them and learn them all. Your lesson is over for today, and I suggest you meditate upon it. Come, Padawan."

She left the practice room, Caleb following. He watched her inclined head, deep in thought, as she walked over the tiled floor. When they neared their rooms, she took Caleb aside. The rays of the Coruscanti sun fell through the upper windows and trailed along the floor of the Great Hall, and it seemed to form a sort of aura around her face. When she looked at him, her expression softened, and she was no longer the stern sabermaster. He dropped his eyes in respect for her. "I'm sorry." He murmured.

She laid a hand on his shoulder, and lowered her voice so that her words were only for him. "Caleb, don't fall into the trap of thinking that power is better than patience. Someday a success in battle might depend upon choosing the right form: holding back when you wanted to jump in, or defending when you would have rather attacked. Sometimes survival is the right choice; sometimes sacrifice is what is needed. The Force will give you the wisdom to know when it is time for each."

"Yes, Master." He nodded, feeling her hand land on his head for a moment, ruffling his hair. When he looked up, he caught her warm smile.

"Your standing up for me was entirely unnecessary…but noted. Loyalty is an admirable quality, but do not let it draw you into unnecessary conflict, apprentice."

"Yes, Master."

* * *

Now

It was about half an hour before sundown when Hera made her way through the ship to Kanan's room. Sabine and Zeb were doing a final check of supplies and explosives, Chopper was up in the Phantom, doing a final systems check and Kanan and Ezra were in his quarters. She paused at the door, then was startled when it opened and Kanan was standing in front of her. Somehow, he must have sensed her. Ezra was sitting on the floor, eyes closed and hands clasped in his lap, meditating. His lips moved slightly as he appeared to be saying something to himself. It was as if he was lost in prayer, although Hera wasn't sure. Did Jedi pray to the Force? She wasn't sure. Did this mean Kanan was now training Ezra?

"Can I talk to you a minute?" she asked softly.

"Sure," he nodded, stepping out with her into the hallway. Ezra remained where he was, his head inclined.

"C'mon." She went toward her room, wanting privacy. Kanan followed her inside and she turned to him.

"Ezra okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Kid was a little anxious, so I taught him um…the Jedi Code." Kanan ducked his head a little and felt a flush creep into his cheeks.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're going to train him as a Jedi?" She threw her arms around him.

"I haven't told him yet, Hera. He may not even want to." But as he said it, Kanan knew it wasn't true. The kid would want to; he knew that like he knew the back of his own hand.

"Can you see how this will turn out? Like a feeling from the Force?" She regretted asking that almost immediately. "I'm sorry…I just…" she returned his gaze uncertainly—it had been a mistake to reveal her worries. The last thing he needed was that on top of everything else, but when she met his blue-green eyes she saw only affection there.

"I don't know; I wish I did…sometimes the Force gives hints, but this time I feel no pull one way or the other."

"Oh. Okay. I just wanted to…" She looked away and his gentle hand on her cheek pulled her eyes back up to his.

"Hera. Whatever happens, I want you to know these last few days with you, Ezra and Zeb…they've been everything to me. I've been standing in the same place for a long time, and now…now I have a direction. A purpose. Everything feels right for the first time since…" he trailed off.

She nodded because she knew. For the first time since the Purge. "You mean everything to us. And you belong here."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her, tentatively at first, but more urgently the longer it went. Finally, they broke, breathless, and panting and still pressed against one another. His forehead touched her own as they took each other's breath. "I love you, Hera Syndulla. I can't imagine being anywhere else but by your side," he murmured.

"I love you, too." She whispered back leaning in to kiss him again. He met her lips, then pulled back with a groan.

"Force, Hera. If we keep this up, I'm not going to be able to leave." He gave her the teasing smirk that she'd come to love, even as his hands came up to cup her face. She held her breath as he ran his thumbs over her cheeks, then he pulled her close in an embrace.

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms until there was a slight knock at the door. "Um…just letting you know, it's about time." Zeb's voice came from outside.

Reluctantly, they left each other's arms. Hera studied the set of his face, the narrowed determination growing in his eyes, and knew that he was mentally preparing himself for the operation. She tugged on her gloves and tightened the strap on her flight cap. They shared one more look before they left.

"Ready?" she asked, a glint in her eye.

"Ready to kriff up the Empire's day? Anytime."

* * *

Kanan and Sabine had worked on the plan earlier that afternoon. They would park the _Ghost_ at Jho's, putting Hera close by without drawing attention to them. The team would move out after sunset. Once inside the complex, Sabine and Zeb would jam the internal comms system, and Sabine would slice in and open all the cell doors. Meanwhile, Ezra and Kanan were to find their way to the detention level to guide any escaped prisoners, but Wedge and Hobbie specifically. Sabine would set charges on her way out to the rendezvous with Kanan and Ezra, who would find their way to the back of the complex.

At the first sign that they'd been spotted, Hera's job was to bring the _Ghost_ in and attack the stormtrooper barracks, assisted by Chopper in the Phantom, thereby cutting off any reinforcements to the main building.

Chopper would land the _Phantom_ on the landing platform, which, at that time, was supposed to be empty. The Imperial transport would be on its way on one of its two trips a day to the star destroyer in orbit, and they would escape via the _Phantom_. It would be a tight fit, but it was possible. If for some reason Chopper couldn't make it, or there were more prisoners than expected, Hera would land the _Ghost_ for the pickup.

Everything was going according to plan and they were able to gain entrance without alarming anyone. Kanan and Zeb had put down the two guards with minimal noise and, as they dragged the bodies into the building, Sabine and Ezra covered the ground between their hiding place and the front entrance.

They took two hallways, then stopped at a terminal, which Sabine worked on for a few moments. She grinned as she brought up schematics for the complex. "Like taking candy from a youngling," she purred, gesturing to the panel. Kanan leaned in to study the plans.

"Alright. Find a control terminal and unlock the cells, then set charges. I'll comm you when we retrieve the packages and when we're all clear, you can blow this place." He placed a hand on Sabine's shoulder. "We'll get your friends," he promised. She nodded in reply.

"Be careful." Zeb said, reaching out to ruffle Ezra's hair. He said nothing, but the look he sent Kanan said it all. _Bring him, and yourself, back safely._

Kanan nodded a simple wordless reply, drawing his blaster. He turned with Ezra to go, already in tune with the Force and extending his senses all about them.

A lone Imperial rounded the corner, but Kanan used the Force to slam him against the wall and he slumped to the floor with a groan. Then he and Ezra crept past the corner and were gone.

Sabine turned to Zeb with wide eyes. "Zeb!" she hissed. "Did you see…?"

"Yeah, I know." Zeb grinned. "We're full of surprises." He motioned and they headed out in the opposite direction, weapons drawn as they rounded the corner.

* * *

Detention Level

The first cell was empty. As Kanan came out, Ezra met him in the middle of the hall, shaking his head. "Empty," he reported.

They checked a few more rooms, finding each unoccupied. Ezra opened one of the last three doors and motioned to Kanan.

Inside, they found a dark haired young man, lying in a boneless heap on the steel metallic ledge that served as a bed. His face was bloodied and bruised.

"Keep an eye out." Kanan gestured to the door and Ezra took up a watch there while the former Jedi tried to wake the sleeper.

"I don't know anything; I'm only a student…" He groaned and flailed, his arms pushing Kanan away.

"Wedge…Wedge Antilles?" Sabine had described Wedge as being dark-haired and Hobbie as light-haired. The young man in front of him had a head full of dark brownish-black hair.

Wedge's eyes opened and he blearily tried to focus on Kanan. "Who…who are you?"

"We're here to help." Kanan helped him sit up. "To get you out of here. Sabine sent us."

"Sabine?" Wedge's eyes went wide. "The Inquisitor…he told me she was dead…"

Kanan smiled grimly. "He lied. She escaped and got help. We're getting you out of here. Can you walk?"

"Walk, hell! Give me a blaster and I'll shoot my way out of here." Wedge managed a pained smile as he stood up unsteadily. What they'd put him through had taken an emotional and physical toll on him, but it was clear he wasn't beaten.

Ezra unshouldered the blaster rifle they'd taken off the guard at the monitoring station in the main hallway and Kanan gave it to Wedge with a raised eyebrow. "Think you can handle one of these?"

"I think I got it." It wasn't the first time he'd handled an E-11 blaster rifle. Holding it now made him feel almost healed.

Wedge followed Kanan to the door. "We haven't seen any other prisoners yet. There's two more rooms on this hall—any idea where your friend Hobbie is?"

"Next door," Wedge said grimly. "I. . .I could hear him screaming. Then…nothing."

Kanan kept watch on the hallway while Wedge and Ezra checked the next room. When Ezra opened the door, his blood froze.

Hobbie was strapped to an interrogation table by his wrists and ankles. Blood smeared his face and one of his arms, which was bare to the elbow to provide a spot for the interrogation droids to inject him. He hung in the restraints, unmoving and obviously dead.

Ezra felt the hair prickle on the back of his neck. He just knew he would turn and see the Pau'an behind him. When he felt someone behind him, he whirled quickly, fear pounding his mind with every throb of his heartbeat. The spike of fear through his chest was immediate and painful in its intensity.

 _Ezra. It's okay. Release your fear._ Kanan's voice sounded in his head as the former Jedi's hand on the boy's shoulder stilled him. He could feel the kid relax under his touch. Wedge had slipped in behind them and he made his way over to the blond on the table.

"He's alive." Wedge said, pulling his fingers from under Hobbie's jaw. "Come on, Derek. Come on and wake up." He softly tapped the blond man's cheek, but the only response was a groan.

Kanan came over and the two of them unstrapped Hobbie from the table. He collapsed, and would have hit the floor if not for the quick reaction of Kanan and Wedge.

"Ok. Let's get him to the bench."

"Speeder…hit me, huh?" Hobbie moaned, trying to lift his head as he was carried to the metal seating.

"Yeah. Hell of a speeder," Wedge replied.

Hobbie rested on the bench, Wedge holding him up and Kanan checking him for wounds. "Ankle's swollen."

"B…bastard broke it," Hobbie growled, taking a shallow and pained breath. "Ribs hurt…too."

"Hobbie, we gotta get out of here," Wedge said. "Can you make it?"

Hobbie nodded as Kanan pulled a spray hypo from a pouch on his belt. "This'll help with the pain." He said as he injected Hobbie. Immediately his pain-creased face eased.

"Better?" Wedge asked.

There was a drugged shine in Hobbie's eyes as the medicine hit his system; hopefully, he would be able to move a little more quickly now. "Yep."

"Then let's get the kriff out of here." Wedge wrapped an arm around Hobbie on his injured side and lifted him up.

Ezra checked both remaining rooms, but there were no more prisoners. They made their way out into the hallway. "Are we going for the lifts?" Ezra asked. Kanan nodded. Immediately a warning claxon began to sound.

"Time to go." Kanan said, putting an arm under Hobbie's other shoulder. They made their way back to the monitoring station. When they stepped out into the larger space, three troopers were waiting for them. One was using the station's comm, the other two began firing.

Ezra, just in front of the other three, fired back, taking out one of the weapon wielding troopers. Kanan raised his free hand and pushed the other one back. The soldier flew into the wall and fell to the ground unconscious. The third one on the comm, who had ducked down behind the console, popped up with a blaster. Wedge took him down.

"Go for the lifts," Kanan said, jaw tight with tension. They tried pressing the controls but there was only a buzzing noise.

"They've been locked down." Ezra said helplessly.

Kanan quickly commed Sabine. "Zeb, Sabine: we've got wounded. The lifts on the detention levels have been locked down."

"I'm on it." Sabine's voice, came through his comm.

"No, no, no...I wouldn't want you running off before I got to say hello." A voice came from behind them. Kanan dropped his arm from Hobbie, then drew and activated his saber with one fluid motion as he turned to face the Pau'an. One of Kanan's arms went out to guide Ezra behind him protectively.

The creature's gray face and golden eyes regarded Kanan, as one might regard some endangered rare animal, a mixture of delight and incredulity on his features. "So. Now I meet the whelp's Jedi friend…or should we say Jedi Master?"

Kanan took a defensive form three stance, lower to the ground for balance, hand extended and saber over his head, ready to parry any attack to protect his comrades. As he waited for the first move, he tapped into the Force, letting the current immerse him. There was a low moan behind him as Ezra, confronted with that presence of nightmare, lost his composure.

"Stay strong, Ezra." Kanan said, never taking his eyes from the golden gaze of the Inquisitor. Something seemed very familiar about the creature, but he couldn't put his finger on it. If not for his tight hold on the Light, he would have sickened at the feel of the Inquisitor's Dark presence. It was slithering against him, looking for any mental chink in his armor.

"What was not finished before will be finished now, Bridger." The thing's razor sharp teeth showed as he smiled at Ezra. "You will complete your training and serve the Emperor."

"He will never serve you. He is to be a Jedi." Kanan replied, his voice strong and his gaze unwavering.

The Inquisitor grabbed his strange semi-circular handled lightsaber from his back and the eerie red glow of the blade threw a bloody shadow across the room. "You are too young to be a Master, so you must have been a Padawan who slipped through the Empire's fingers. The temple records were very complete. I wonder which one you are?"

The Pau'an lunged at him, with a Force assisted leap to cut the distance between them. They began to fight, Kanan making up for his lack of practice with the blade by tapping deeply into the Force and defending using Soresu. It guided his hand to block the creature's forceful attacks and keep the thing off of them.

Kanan could feel Ezra slowly unraveling behind him; the kid's presence in the Light was fading to a dark well of fear, disgust and hatred, but he dared not take his attention from the Pau'an. A series of parries and ripostes began as they worked back and forth across the room. The monitoring station became a twisted mass of melted, smoking metal as their fight raged around and over it. Kanan drew the Force to him until he felt as if he were made of only Light itself. He could not lose this battle.

"I can't get a shot." Wedge cried out. The two force-users locked blades and traded blows so quickly that no one could get a clear shot on the Pau'an.

"He's a kriffin' Jedi…" Hobbie muttered as his eyes and blaster rifle sights followed the battle across the room.

With a growl, the Inquisitor made a quick motion and used the Force to throw Kanan back into the wall. The Jedi's head slammed against the metal, and he sank down into a crouch, his vision spinning with pinpricks of light. When Kanan sensed the Inquisitor moving toward Ezra, he got to his feet. With a gesture, the Inquistor threw him against the wall and held him there.

In the meantime, the Pau'an turned back to Ezra. "You will not escape this time, apprentice." He took steps forward and Wedge took several shots, which the Inquisitor reflected back. One struck Wedge in the shoulder and he fell back against the lift doors, taking Hobbie with him.

Ezra shrank back as the Inquisitor reached for him. He screamed, "No!" and threw his arm up. The Inquisitor went flying back against the wall and was pinned there. The boy held out a shaking hand in front of him as he channeled all his fear and hatred into holding the Pau'an completely motionless. When the Inquisitor lost his focus on Kanan, the Jedi slipped to the ground.

"Good. Use your hatred and maybe you can save them. Embrace the Dark side the way you were meant to." The Inquisitor's eyes glowed with a dark light as his pointed teeth showed in a grin.

"I hate you!" Ezra growled, closing his hand into a fist. The Pau'an lost the smile on his face as he began to struggle for air.

"Ezra, no." Kanan said softly, getting to his feet again. "Not like this…" He staggered to the child, hearing a voice in his mind. _If you do not train him, another will._ "Let go of the Dark."

"I hate him." Ezra said again, his voice a sob, as tears tracked down his cheeks. His fist stayed closed and the Pau'an was coughing and struggling for air. "I want him to die! Then he can't hurt anyone else."

Kanan closed his eyes, wrapping himself in Light before he touched the dark whirlpool of Ezra's mind. _I know. But not this way, Ezra. Not by the Dark side._ He wanted the Inquisitor defeated, but not at such a cost. If Ezra killed him this way, it would be the first steps down a very dark path. _Release your anger and pain. There's another way, a better way._

Ezra could see the blazing light of Kanan's Force signature in his mind. He let his hold loosen as his fear began to abate.

"T-touching." The Inquisitor mocked in a rasping voice. Ezra looked back again, then gritted his teeth and tightened his fist. Any other words the Inquisitor was going to say were choked away. Ezra's face was set, his normally blue eyes seemed so dark they were almost black. Tears still streamed from his eyes.

Kanan drew close. "Ezra." The Pau'an was losing his struggle for air, his eyes rolling up into his head. He wouldn't last much longer. Ezra teetered on the edge of darkness. "Please." He reached out with his hand and closed it on Ezra's shoulder. At the contact, Ezra released his hold on the dark side, and the kid fell against him, quietly sobbing as the Inquisitor slumped to the floor.

The relief Kanan felt was instant, and he held Ezra tightly. "Okay. It's okay." He wrapped the Light about Ezra like a blanket, keeping his eyes on the Pau'an in front of them. The Inquisitor was on his knees, unable to do anything but gasp for air.

Kanan wanted to end the evil creature, but knew that he had to adhere to the same standards he was holding Ezra to. Besides, staying longer than they had to would put their escape at risk. Ezra's fragile hold on the light had to be maintained, and the longer they stayed, the more danger there was. As if on cue, the lift doors opened, spilling Hobbie and Wedge inside.

"Let's go." Kanan said, keeping an eye on the Inquisitor, who was still heaving for breath, glaring at them as they backed toward the lift. Only when the doors closed did the former Jedi even attempt to drop his eyes and give his attention to Ezra.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Ezra mumbled helplessly. "All I could feel was the hate and anger…the pain…"

"And you beat it." Kanan wrapped both arms around the kid that clung to him like a youngling holding on to a temple master. "You didn't fall, Ezra. It's okay, kid."

He then met the eyes of the two cadets that were looking at him as if he were riding a Nexu. "We're gonna be ok. We just have to make it to the landing pad."

"You're a Jedi…" Wedge said with wonder.

"Yeah, and that's not gonna help us if you don't stop gawking and get that blaster ready." The lift slid to the first floor and Kanan pulled his blaster as the first explosions began. "Move out."

* * *

"Chop…the transport's still on the landing pad." Hera made a swoop down, laying down fire that drove the stormtroopers back into their quarters. There was no way she would get the _Ghost_ down in the courtyard behind the complex. Maybe the _Phantom_ could make it, but it would be tough.

"MWAHH WHAA!" Chopper complained. He flew low, taking out some troopers who were trying to set up a heavy gun under cover behind some crates. On his second pass, the _Phantom_ took a hit to the right ion engine. Chopper screamed obscenities in binary as he fired and took out the crates and gun with the Phantom's twin laser canons. He urged the crippled fighter back up and swooped out over the complex again, reporting the engine failure to Hera.

"Chopper! Can you make it to the rendezvous?"

Chopper squawked an affirmative.

"Do it. I'll handle things here."

The little astromech complained and cursed the whole time he made a wide arc around the complex then edged his crippled ship out over the city.

Hera had bigger problems to focus on. "Kanan? Sabine?" She called over the comm as she blew a huge chunk out of the trooper barracks. "Zeb?"

"Kinda busy right now!" She heard blaster fire in the background as Kanan replied in a tight voice.

"Chop's gotta abort and I can't put down in the courtyard. The shuttle's still there. You're gonna have to find an alternate ride. Oh and TIEs are on the way down from the destroyer up there, so time is tight."

"We're in the courtyard now," Zeb said. "We'll figure something out. Just keep those troopers off our backs."

"Roger that. Watch yourself out there. Let me know when you're off."

* * *

Kanan and Wedge eyed each other across the hallway, then both of them ducked out to provide cover fire while Ezra made his way across the hallway. A storm of blaster fire drove Kanan back when he attempted to join them. When it was clear that the troopers shooting at them had gotten reinforcements, Kanan waved to them. "Go. I'll find another way."

Ezra looked stricken, but Kanan shook his head through the hail of blaster bolts that flew down the hall. _Go. I'll find you,_ he found that brushing against Ezra's mind took no effort at all, as connected as they both were with the Force right now.

 _Master-Padawan bond_ …his mind had time to think, realizing that their connection felt much like his own with Depa. Especially now, in the heat of battle. He could feel Ezra's terror back down some as he sent calming thoughts through their bond.

He made his way down the opposite hallway, which turned until it was headed toward the back of the complex. A blaster shot grazed the wall near him. With a quick motion, he threw the trooper into the wall so hard he slumped down, unconscious.

More explosions rocked the complex as he fired at a pair of troopers guarding the exit to the back landing pad. He sent one sprawling, and the other one's blaster fire grazed off of the shoulder plate he wore before Kanan was able to put him down.

He burst out of the doors and the back courtyard was full of more blaster fire, streaking from all directions. Kanan looked up to catch the _Ghost_ dive down to take a shot at a group of troopers making their way toward the shuttle. He could make out a figure that had to be Sabine at the shuttle, holding off a group of troopers with grenades and some sort of heavy blaster. Zeb was fighting his way to Ezra, Wedge and Hobbie who were pinned down against the other exit. Kanan drew his lightsaber and began to deflect blaster fire as he made his way toward them.

When he reached them, Zeb and Wedge were providing cover fire while they argued what to do. He continued angling back blaster fire as he felt Ezra move closer to him. He managed to put a hand out to brush Ezra's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay," he murmured.

"Kanan, it's getting thick in here." Zeb called over his shoulder in a warning tone. "Too many of 'em."

"We need to push back to the shuttle. Zeb and Wedge lead, I'll cover the rear. Ezra, Hobbie, in the middle."

They began to make a slow push through the courtyard, ducking behind suspensor crates, but then suddenly their progress was arrested as a squad of troopers began an assault from the barracks across the yard toward them. When Kanan looked around, he saw the black and grey clad Pau'an exit the major part of the complex, along with a squad of four troopers. "Kriff!" He muttered under his breath, hitting his comm. "Hera…we need help. Get these troopers off our backs."

"Sure thing, love." Hera flew down and aimed a barrage at the largest squad coming from the barracks.

The Pau'an was coming on fast, he was too close to call Hera in to take the shot. "Zeb. Get them to the shuttle." Kanan continued angling the blaster fire away from them, using his lightsaber, as he spoke, throwing a glance at Zeb over his shoulder. "I got this."

"THAT guy again? Kriff!" Wedge growled, and began to take shots at the troopers with the Inquisitor. At least they couldn't redirect blaster fire, he thought.

"Kanan…" Zeb said warningly. Return fire from the Pau'an's squad flashed by them.

 _Sometimes survival is the right choice; sometimes sacrifice is what is needed._

"Zeb! Do it." The two of them looked in each other's eyes for a beat, and Kanan felt that Zeb understood. "I'll keep them back."

Ezra shook his head. "NO! You're coming with us."

Kanan looked down and it suddenly seemed that everything in his life had been converging to bring him to this point in time, right now. Now, he understood everything his master had done that horrible day on Kaller, and as he looked at the dark-haired boy in front of him, he knew he would do exactly the same to keep him safe. "Ezra…" he whispered, knowing he couldn't promise anything. He laid a hand gently on Ezra's shoulder. "Go with Zeb."

"No!" Ezra shook his head, looking to Zeb. The expression on Zeb's face was stricken at the choice before him. They could stay to try and push back the troopers and the red blade and probably die as they were outgunned and outmatched or they could make it with the amount of time Kanan was going to try and buy them. He growled, furious at the decision, but knowing if the situation was reversed, he'd do the same thing. Saving the kid and the two cadets was first.

"Karabast!" With two strong strides, the Lasat came and snatched Ezra up, wrapping a furry arm around him. The kid screamed and kicked, but the big Lasat had what had to be 200 pounds on him, so it had no real effect.

Kanan nodded as Zeb threw one last look over his shoulder. "Wait as long as you can, then go."

Then he turned to face the Pau'an, lazily whipping his saber through the air as he readied himself for battle.

As the Inquisitor drew close, Kanan could see that one of his eyes was full of blood and there were black bruises on his throat; Ezra's attack had done some damage. "I see you were bested by my Padawan." Kanan said, his grin more like a grimace. "Why don't you give up now?"

"MY apprentice has advanced in the ways of the dark side, it seems," the Pau'an said, slashing savagely at Kanan, who blocked. "The light is too weak to save him. I will cut you down and then I will take him to complete his training."

"Stop talking about it then, and take your shot." Kanan spat back, throwing a Force push that sent the Inquisitor back at least fifteen feet. As the Inquisitor rose, Kanan glanced back over his shoulder to the shuttle. From the direction the stormtrooper fire was going, he could tell that they were almost there. He turned back just in time to feel the burn of a blaster bolt in his side. It was a stray shot that had caught him. The impact took him to his knees.

There was a fierce smile on the Inquisitor's face as he sensed weakness and pain.

Kanan's free hand went to the burning wound in his side. The agony of it was just as bad as it had been on that day on Kardoa. He closed his eyes and began to feel for the Force, drawing it to him, and with the brilliance, the pain went somewhere else far away. The battle sounds faded and there were only two things he could hear. His own breath and the beat of his own heart.

He lifted his gaze and stood up, readying his lightsaber. The Inquisitor raised a hand to still the troopers behind him, who had lifted their blasters to take more shots.

"Hold. Leave the Jedi…to me."

* * *

To Be Continued! *evil laugh*

(Seriously, this was almost 6,000 words... so I felt it best to split into two.) Please let me know what you think! Please?


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning: This chapter does contain a "torture scene" with Kanan in the clutches of the Inquisitor, but honestly, it's not as bad as the Ezra scene with the Inquisitor, in my opinion. Just wanted to put a warning...just in case people are disturbed by that sort of thing.**

* * *

 **13.**

Sabine caught the desperate look in the Lasat's eyes as he steadily cursed, taking down every trooper that dared to rush the shuttle. The bo-rifle was like an extension of his anger. Having to leave one of their number behind caused the warrior in him to rebel. Sabine flipped switches, getting the shuttle ready to fly. "This is a Zeta class. Not sure why they'd have one on Lothal, but at least she's equipped with a hyperdrive."

Zeb growled as he took out two troopers who were right outside one of the complex doors, trying to set up an E-Web. He took a shot at the gun as well, while Wedge fired from the other side of the doorway.

Sabine winced as the ship rocked with a hit. "Zeb! I think they're firing at the fuel pods!" The Zeta had two fuel tanks, port and starboard. It was a little too blocky to take on combat, although it did have two laser cannons. Maybe they would be enough.

"Can't go yet." Zeb muttered, wanting to give Kanan every chance. Maybe with those Jedi moves of his, he'd be able to do the impossible and make it to them.

He ducked out and threw a couple of shots toward the back of the ship where another squad of troopers was setting up another repeating blaster, but the angle to take shots at them was all wrong. He ducked back and shared a worried look with Wedge.

"They're gonna be able to do some damage with that repeater." Wedge said, looking worried.

"Karablast! Hera!" He yelled over the comm as a TIE zoomed over the complex. "We got a big problem…"

"Yeah, they've found us. It's getting hot up here." Hera sounded stressed.

"Kanan…he's fighting the Inquisitor. There's too many troopers for us to get back to him…kriffin' hells!"

Zeb glanced around the cabin and saw Ezra, face pressed to one of the cabin windows, tears shining in his eyes. Another blast rocked the ship, and Zeb looked out, seeing the flashes of blue and red as the redblade fought Kanan.

"You've got several more squads converging on your position. I can take out some of them, but there's too many, without Chop as backup," Hera said, her voice shaking with emotion. "You and Sabine need to get out of there."

"Hera, we can hold out just—"

"No. Get everyone out of there, Zeb. That's…That's an order." Her voice trembled and Zeb knew she was crying, but trying to hide it.

"No…I can't see him anymore, Zeb…" Ezra's voice was a whisper, but everyone heard him. "I can't feel his presence anymore."

Sabine looked up at Zeb, her face stricken, then the Mandalorian's eyes shifted to Ezra as their transport took another hit.

Zeb turned, his eyes searching the courtyard. The red and blue flashes were indeed gone. There was only a sea of white trooper armor as soliders converged on the previous location of the battle. "Kanan, come in." He called. "Kanan…" There was only static in reply. Zeb dropped his head and cursed softly to himself.

"Go." Zeb said, his voice shaking as he shut the transport's hatch. He turned and walked to kneel in front of Ezra.

Before he could say a word, Ezra threw himself at Zeb, clinging to the Lasat and burying his face against Zeb's shoulder. An anguished wail arose from the kid as his shoulders heaved.

"Fracking Sithspit." Wedge muttered, as he threw himself down in the co-pilot's seat and looked over the laser cannon controls.

The transport lifted off. "Shields engaged, but I don't know how long they'll hold." She hit her comm. "We're gonna need some air support, Captain. This thing flies like a sandcrawler rolls."

There was a long pause, long enough that Sabine looked over her shoulder at Zeb, thinking that something was wrong. Maybe the Twi'lek Captain had been hit. Finally Hera did answer, a tremor in her voice. "Okay. I got it. Once you hit hyperspace, head for the rendezvous."

"Roger that." Sabine answered, doing the best that could be done to evade the fire from the TIEs on her tail. Hera took out one, which went spiraling out of control. She flew after it like a bird of prey, shooting until it exploded in a fireball. She soared back, taking out the other TIE by a direct shot to the ion engine. It exploded and pelted the transport with a rain of debris.

"Wedge, disable the transponder." Sabine grunted as she attempted a bank in the transport to miss the larger pieces of debris. Turning this thing was like trying to get a bantha moving. Slow and steady.

The pilot was already reaching under the control panel on his left. "Got it. Empire always puts everything in the same place. No imagination."

"Thank the stars. Jumping now." Sabine initiated the jump and the stars stretched out into lines in front of them.

* * *

The Jedi had taken two blaster hits to his side but had only gone down after the Pau'an had slammed him against the trooper barracks. The stormtroopers carried the unconscious Jedi to the special interrogation cell they kept for the more dangerous prisoners, and the Inquisitor followed, clipping his enemy's lightsaber to his belt for now.

Jedi knights were trained to resist the mind probes of interrogator droids, as well as some of the effects of common interrogation drugs, but the Grand Inquisitor had other advanced techniques in his repertoire, developed from his experience turning Jedi to the dark side. Finding what would pervert a knight's belief in the light was always a welcome challenge. Perhaps if this Jedi proved particularly resourceful, he could be another addition to the Inquisitorius.

The soliders tossed him on the interrogation table like a rag doll, then strapped him down. "Give him a triple dose of H4b," he instructed the interrogation droid. "I want him kept under, until we get him up to the destroyer. There will be no escapes for this one."

The droid said nothing but hovered to the Jedi and injected him. The bleeding man groaned, then relaxed as the drug hit his system. "Sleep while you can." The Pau'an murmured. "I look forward to our next engagement."

He was certain the Jedi would prove to be a formidable adversary.

* * *

Hera set down on Garel's surface near the _Phantom_ on a valley floor in one of the many mountain ranges on the planet's surface. Once she was done cutting engine power, she stayed seated, gazing out at the wind blowing the green leaves on the trees. The gray clouds were thick above them, and a soft mist of rain sprinkled the viewport.

She began to sob bitterly, her shoulders shaking as she pulled her legs up in the chair and buried her face against her knees. For long moments, she allowed herself to feel the pain of Kanan's loss. Was he dead? It seemed almost certain. Of course, she could be wrong. For a moment, a paralyzing anxiety seized her: had she done the right thing by instructing Zeb to leave? She went over the situation again in her head. Yes. She had to save the rest of the crew and the cadets, or all of it would have been for nothing. She could hear Kanan in her mind, telling her that she made the right choice…it was the choice she would have made for herself had she been in his position. She felt tears drip down her face, but she drew back from her grief when she heard the engines of the transport.

She wiped at her eyes and stood up, watching as Sabine expertly set the transport down beside the Phantom. Hera opened the cargo ramp and made her way there, trying her best to appear in control.

When they exited the transport, her eyes briefly lingered on the two cadets, one limping and both bloodied and hurt, but still alive. Sabine came out next, and last Zeb and Ezra. Zeb followed the kid, one large paw on his shoulder.

And Ezra. Even from here, she could see his grief-ravaged face. She met him halfway between the two ships and he fell against her sobbing inconsolably. He tried to talk at first, but he couldn't because he was crying so hard. She wrapped her arms around him and searched for Zeb's eyes; the expression on his face was so incredibly sad that she was reminded of the Zeb as he'd been when they'd first met. "Zeb…Ezra. I'm so sorry." She murmured, holding Ezra close.

Hera's act didn't fool Zeb. He could see her watery eyes and knew she was struggling as much or more as the kid. He put his arms around both her and Ezra in the rain and held the both of them while the rain drops became larger and more frequent, mingling with the tears they shed. In a short time, they all were drenched; it took Sabine and the prodding of Chopper's manipulators to get them moving underneath the cargo ramp.

Hera looked up at the cadets as they walked past; she didn't know what to say, how to explain the depth of their loss.

The one Sabine had spoken the most about, Wedge Antilles, reached out to place a hand on her arm, which was still wrapped around Ezra. "He…he saved us…all of us. I'm so sorry."

She nodded, tears gathering in her eyes and threatening to spill. "You need…the med bay…Zeb can show you."

She closed her eyes again and tucked Ezra's head under her chin. He was still crying; her shoulder was soaked with rain and tears. She could feel his trembling against her, so like Kanan's shuddering from last night that she felt the abyss of her own grief threatening again. _Take care of Ezra first_ , she told herself. "You're soaked, love. C'mon." She guided him up the ladder.

They made their way into Ezra's room where he sat on the bed. She left, and came back with a towel, which she handed him. "I'll get you some dry clothes…" She said absently, turning around and pulling a warm pair of sleep pants and long-sleeved shirt out of one of the bottom drawers under his bunk.

When she turned back around, she found him, still sitting and holding the towel in his hands, looking at it as if it were some strange object he wasn't sure how to use. Ezra's voice was hoarse from crying as he spoke. "Hera, I…think…I think he's gone…I can't feel anything from him…anymore."

 _No_ , she told herself, when her own tears began to threaten. _Ezra first._ "Shhh, it's okay, sweetheart." She continued to murmur reassurances she didn't believe as she folded him into her arms again. He cried himself to exhaustion again, sagging against her. When she finally let him go, she wiped his tears away. Then she dried his hair with the towel. "Change out of those wet clothes. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

When he nodded, she stood up and left. The door swooshed shut behind her and she leaned against it, squeezing her eyes shut and sighing.

"Ezra?" Zeb's voice was soft as he came from out of the shadows of the ship toward her.

"He's…" she shook her head, "not good. I need to change and get back in there with him, then I need to check with the cadets and Sabine and…they're probably hungry…I…"

A set of soft paws took her by the shoulders. "Hera…Hera, stop…Wedge and Hobbie are banged up but fine. Sabine is with them. What do you need me to do?" He could see the glazed look in her eyes; she was immobilized by stress and sadness and he wanted so badly to take the burden from her shoulders. "Just tell me what you need."

She didn't speak for a long time. "Zeb…?" She looked up at him, still trying to fight back tears. "He's dead...isn't he?" She looked so young to Zeb, like a lost kit. "He's gone…"

He hesitated, not wanting to make it worse, but then went on. "Hera…all we knew is that he was there fighting…I could see the flash of his lightsaber. Then it was…just gone." Zeb let go of her with one hand and rubbed the tears from his own eyes. The gesture left his purple fur damp. "If there was anything else I coulda done; I don't know…"

She bit her lip hard and nodded. "I know that, Zeb... I know." She whispered and threw her arms around him. He returned the gesture.

"He made me leave him, Hera. He wanted me to save the kid. Son-of-a-bantha didn't even hesitate."

Hera wiped at her face, nodded, then sighed shakily. "Stay with Ezra. I'll be back," she mumbled as she went to her room.

Zeb watched her go. "Karabast." He whispered to himself. How could things get much worse? He turned and went into Ezra's room.

* * *

Kanan awoke instantly, feeling the sting in his arm as a stimulant was administered. It felt like acid speeding through his veins. "A cup of caf would have been just fine," he groaned, blinking and looking around at the black room he was in. The throbbing buzz of an interrogation droid jogged his memory, along with the hot burn of pain along his left side.

There was no answer because he was alone. He tried to move out of the cuffs, but they held him fast and he was weak…too weak to even use the Force. He felt confused, his attention scattered, and knew he would be unable to grasp the Force well, if at all, because he couldn't focus. He realized he'd been drugged; he felt dizzy and his mouth was as dry as the desert.

"Anybody in here?" He called, lifting his head to eye the droid's ocular sensor. "At least let me know what time's breakfast…I wouldn't mind a couple of space waffles with syrup."

Pieces of his fight with the Inquisitor came back to him, and it was obvious he'd been taken prisoner. This wasn't the complex on Lothal though. He could feel the thrumming of the engines of a star destroyer, or other large craft, underneath him. A cold sweat seemed to envelop him as he wondered just what he was here for. He'd watched executions of Jedi on the holonet with the rest of the Outer Rim and knew what the outcome of this would be.

But Ezra…and the others…they'd gotten away, right? It was a comfort to know that if he was going to die, he'd at least not die in vain. He struggled to put the pieces back together. He saw Ezra's anguished face in his mind…the kid had been fighting Zeb, who was carrying him to safety. He saw the distant figure of Sabine holding off stormtroopers. The two cadets…He'd heard the sounds of the transport lifting off before he'd been Force pushed into the wall of the trooper barracks hard enough to cause unconsciousness.

"Coming back to you, is it?" The Inquisitor's voice came from behind him. He felt his stomach drop, but he didn't strain his head to see; he remained motionless.

There were footsteps. The Pau'an had his head tilted, watching Kanan as if he were fascinated and anticipating his next move. Kanan felt the hiss of a spray hypo against his neck as the interrogation droid came close.

"You should thank my apprentice. I think the eye's an improvement to your looks, redblade." Kanan felt cold satisfaction to see the burst blood vessels in one of the Pau'an's eyes and the bruises on his throat. _Good for you, Ezra_ , he thought. _I shoulda let you kill him._

The Inquisitor ignored his baiting. "If you're wondering about the injection, that's a compound of several medications, all meant to keep our visit together from ending prematurely. You will probably feel a lack of concentration, a lack of focus. Most Force users find themselves essentially cut off from the Force while under the influence." The Pau'an's golden irises watched him for any reaction.

"I've had stronger stuff in the bars on Corellia." Kanan remarked flippantly, as he felt another wave of dizziness and nausea. "Guess you're too afraid to face me in a straight-up fight…totally understandable. I'm sure you didn't wanna get your ass handed to you in front of half a platoon of troopers."

The Inquisitor smiled, showing his pointed teeth. "I haven't been able to determine which Padawan you were yet, but it's clear your studies were lacking. Your combat style is ridiculous…your Jedi Master must have died quickly with such subpar skills."

Kanan's eyes flashed with anger, and he strained against the cuffs holding him immobilized.

The Inquisitor looked delighted at the reaction. "Good...your anger is strong. Losing your master **has** shaken your faith in the Light." The Inquisitor leaned forward, his golden eyes aflame with a warped desire to experience Kanan's anger and suffering for himself. The Jedi realized that the Inquisitor wanted to dig into him, find every detail of his past to use against him. He felt suffocated, like the very air around him had thickened and became impossible to take in. "Ohh, I can see it. The anger, the frustration, day after day, turning in upon itself." The Pau'an held out a hand over Kanan's face, using the dark side to pry into the Jedi's mind. "The loneliness…"

Kanan struggled to regain his shields, the effort causing every muscle in his body to tremble. "You know nothing about me," he growled through gritted teeth. The restraints rattled again like bones.

The moment was suspended between them. The Pau'an pushing and Kanan resisting. The air grew heavy with the dark side as the Inquisitor spoke. "The Dark is strong in you…it wars with the Light. I feel your guilt…it gnaws at you…with your desire for revenge."

Kanan groaned with the effort of holding his eroding shields. "You're wrong…revenge is not the Jedi way. Even younglings know that."

The Pau'an leaned foward. "But that doesn't stop it from gnawing your guts does it? You would trade your soul for a chance to get revenge."

"No!" Kanan pushed back with everything in him and the Inquisitor recoiled from the psychic blast. When the Pau'an recovered, he looked at Kanan almost admiringly.

He spoke to the interrogation droid. "Skirtopanol and chromostring every four hours." The Inquisitor knew that the chromostring would make the Jedi more susceptible to whatever drugs he decided to use, and the skirtopanol would bring any aggressive tendencies to the surface and amplify them. It would make it hard to stay calm and therefore bring him one step closer to the Dark.

Blood ran down from the multiple injections the droid had now applied to Kanan's neck. When the Jedi spoke again it was in a low, dangerous voice. "You'll get nothing from me. You might as well kill me now." His face was shadowed as he looked up through the strands of hair that had come loose from his tie. He would rather die than give up any information about his friends or have his soul picked apart by this vulture.

The Inquisitor shook his head with a laugh. "Oh, foolish Padawan…I don't want to kill you, at least not yet. Your belief in the Light is what I want to destroy. You will serve the Emperor well, when I break you."

Kanan looked up, anger blazing in his eyes. "I'll never break."

"They all say that in the beginning. By the end, they're screaming that they'll do whatever I want them to do. I'm going to do some more digging to find out who you are, _Padawan_. Then we'll talk again."

* * *

 **This chapter made me very very sad to write. I hope you're still reading and having a good time. If you did, I wouldn't mind hearing about it! Drop me a review. I love getting reviews on a workday. (ok, any day... LOL) May the Force be with you!**


	14. Chapter 14

Warning: Kanan is still being held prisoner, so you have a good idea of the kind of stuff that's going on with him. This is about the same level of violence as the last chapter, so I don't think it's too overwhelming, (just a punch and lots of chemicals from the interrogation droid) but as always, if you don't like it, skip that part!

* * *

14.

Sabine was up early the next morning. She moved through the Ghost on Lothcat feet, not wanting to disturb any of the sleepers onboard because she knew they were all tired, Hera and Zeb especially. They had alternately taken turns keeping an eye on Ezra, who had only come out once that night on his way to the fresher. He'd seemed like a different person then; his eyes were hollow and dark, and his face was much too pale under the shadow of his black hair. She tried to gain his attention, but his eyes stayed fixed on his destination and he didn't respond to her.

It was obvious that Kanan Jarrus had been more than just a crew member to Hera and the rest, and after the battle, Sabine knew why. He had stepped in to battle the Inquisitor with no hesitation, so that they could escape…and she owed him her life. Such a selfless sacrifice…she felt a deep respect for him, someone she hardly knew, and now, there wasn't going to be a chance to get to know him or repay the debt. It made her blood boil with anger and her fists clenched unconsciously. Did the evil the Empire created have no bounds? It made her wish she'd deserted earlier. Wedge and Hobbie, who'd also seen Kanan's heroism for themselves felt the same way. It had only been a few hours, but they'd discussed Kanan's two fights with the Inquisitor several times already. The whispered word _Jedi_ was shared between them like a secret as they sat together after dinner, hunched over the Dejarik table. If Kanan truly was a Jedi, and the lightsaber seemed to speak to that, then the universe had lost a great deal indeed.

And had they truly lost him? Or was he alive somewhere being tortured by that evil Pau'an? The thought made her feel sick at heart.

Not really feeling like eating, but hearing her stomach rumble anyway, she rummaged around in the kitchen a moment, finding a meal bar, then headed down to the cargo ramp of the ship. She could still hear the relaxing pattering on the ship's surface. The ramp was open, as if someone had exited the ship before her.

The silver curtain of rain blurred the world between the _Ghost_ , the _Phantom_ and the transport. As she sat on the ramp and looked out at the trees swaying in the wind, she began munching on the meal bar thoughtfully. Apparently, Hera knew how to pick her hiding places, and the Imperial transport couldn't be tracked, due to the disabled transponder, so they were essentially safe for the time being. She hadn't felt this safe in a long time.

Being on the run had been particularly nerve-wracking because the Empire was everywhere. They had begun to spread out over the Outer Rim like a virus. The three of them had been constantly on the move, sleeping on transports and wherever else they could find to bed down for the night, one of them always on watch. Then as they exited the ship on Ylix, there were guns and bucketheads everywhere. Even Muttonchops had been there with his elite squad. Then the Pau'an Inquisitor on Lothal. She shivered in the cool air and pushed the thoughts away, focusing on the here and now. A metallic banging sound came to her ears, and she recognized the annoyed noises of Hera's droid, Chopper, coming from the nearby _Phantom_. The ship had taken a hit in the battle and obviously, the little astromech was trying to make repairs despite the hindrance of the rain.

She finished her quick breakfast and then made her way to the Phantom, where the little droid was squawking up a storm. She was pretty positive quite a few of the words were expletives, and it caused her to laugh softly as she shook the raindrops out of her hair.

The droid turned its ocular sensor on her immediately. "Sorry…" she held up both hands. "I've just never heard a droid _curse_ like that. I mean it's not like I haven't heard those words before, it just took me by surprise. Is there anything I can lend a hand with? They're still asleep up there and I didn't want to wake anyone."

The droid replied that if she wanted to try and run a diagnostic on the _Phantom's_ hyperdrive, nothing was stopping her.

"Okay." She agreed, stepping to the front. She began the diagnostics program and then looked to Chopper as an idea occurred to her. "Hey? You ever do any slicing?"

He answered in the affirmative. Sabine looked out at the transport, sitting in the rain. Just a little information finding session, that was all. They could use the transport's computer to do some digging, and she was sure she could find a way to mask their location while doing it. She'd done the same while they had been on the run. Surely no harm could come from it, and at least she'd know for sure what happened to Kanan Jarrus. She smiled at Chopper. "Let's go do a little slicing…poke around a little bit...and see what we can find out."

* * *

When Ezra awoke later in the morning, he was alone. The boy hadn't had much success sleeping; his dreams were fragmented and broken up by nightmares. Either they were still fighting the battle in the landing area, or he was watching Kanan being tortured by the Pau'an. The first time he'd been woken up by the latter dream, and he'd leapt from the top bunk, instantly nauseated and made his way to the fresher before throwing up everything he'd tried to eat that night. Sweaty and exhausted, he'd made his way back to the bunk and fell into another fitful sleep. When he woke up screaming the second time, Zeb hadn't said anything, but stood up, gathered Ezra into his arms and then laid back on his own bunk. "Sleep now, kit." He murmured, placing a large paw on Ezra's back and rubbing small circles there through his t-shirt, until Ezra had been able to sleep again. That had been 3 hours ago.

Ezra sat up in the bottom bunk, alone, looking around him exhaustedly. By habit, he ran a hand through his messy hair to try and smooth it down. At first, when he'd awoken, he'd felt okay, but then a growing sense of dread began to possess him. He'd tried to find sleep again so that he wouldn't have to remember the awful truth waiting for him, but sleep had fled. The memory of leaving Kanan behind jabbed him in the heart again and he closed his eyes swiftly, trying to continue breathing despite the pain. It was wrong. They shouldn't have left him, but he understood why they did. He wiped at his face once more, wondering if there was a limit to the number of tears someone could cry before they ran out of tears altogether.

A sound jostled him out of his dark reverie and his forehead creased as he tried to think of what the noise was. He'd lived on the ship long enough to know every sound it and its inhabitants made or could make and he'd never heard this before. He swung his legs off the bed, and wiped his face one more time before he opened the door.

There was no one outside. He stood in the hallway, glancing toward the galley and common area, but heard nothing. There was the metallic patter of rain on the hull, but he'd heard that before and that wasn't what had caught his attention.

It sounded again, this time more like distant conversation, but it had an odd repetitive quality to it. He followed it across the hall to Hera's room. It was definitely coming from inside her room. He knocked softly, but received no reply as the speaker repeated whatever short phrase it was they were saying.

Normally he wouldn't have entered Hera's room without permission, but something, it felt like the Force, urged him to go in. When the door slid open, he immediately heard the location of the noise. The sound was coming from the corner and he could just make out the words.

"Meditation bridges all levels of your consciousness with the Force, Padawan…Meditation bridges all levels of your consciousness with the Force, Padawan…" The message was repeating itself over and over.

Ezra made his way over to Kanan's bag on the floor. He knelt beside it, almost reverently, and opened it. There was a blue gleam and he reached in to remove the shining object.

It was roughly square with moving parts. He could see that because the corners of each side of the square were rotated so they didn't line up. A blue light gleamed from its inner space and floating above the object, was a hologram of a woman, dressed in robes. Her long hair was braided and there were two gleaming marks on her brow, Ezra could see. She was beautiful.

The holo kept repeating itself. "Meditation bridges all levels of your consciousness with the Force, Padawan." The recording was obviously stuck. Ezra was spellbound. The soft dark eyes of the woman speaking seemed to be fixed on him, and there was a slight smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"Wow." Ezra murmured, feeling a swift ache of pain for Kanan. This object was obviously his, something kept from when he was a Jedi and for a moment Ezra held it tightly to his chest. When the pang of sorrow passed, he sat back on his heels, holding it reverently in his hands. What was the object's purpose? He tried to gently twist the pieces to be congruent with the square, but they wouldn't budge.

"Meditation bridges all levels of your consciousness with the Force, Ezra." Ezra almost dropped the box when it used his name. What in the kriff? There was a whisper from the Force, but it was hard to calm down enough to listen. The ship was quiet, except for the slightly accented voice of the beautiful Jedi woman in the holo. The holo…was it some sort of message? From Kanan? He closed his eyes and reached for the Force, not knowing what else to do. Last night he'd been too upset to even try to meditate, even though he knew Kanan probably would have suggested it, had he been there. The Force seemed to purr as he opened himself to it, and he gladly accepted its calming presence with the trust of a child.

As he meditated, he was too deeply immersed in the Force to notice the object fly apart and begin to float, its pieces rotating in orbit around it. The Force built and built around the boy as he gave himself completely over to its current. In such a state, he never noticed when the loose objects in the room began to levitate from the overwhelming tide of Force energy that was being channeled.

* * *

Light began to grow all about him. White at first, it took on the color of sunshine, of the brilliant yellow sun on Lothal, and Ezra couldn't help but feel the pain in his spirit ease. After a time, the light began to coalesce and shapes became discernible around him.

He was in a room with large windows lining one side. Outside the room, varied shades of green glowed from a well-tended garden. Ezra saw the opposite side of the wall was lined with mirrors and the floor, a highly-polished wood, glowed under his feet.

There were people everywhere: small children, kids his own age, older teens and adults. Younger children sparred with each other near the windows. Students his own age, wearing brown robes, were practicing movements with sabers nearby as well. It was like some beautiful choreographed dance, he thought, as he watched the students move in unison from position to position in time. No one in the room paid any attention to Ezra at all.

His focus was drawn to a teenaged boy near him, doing the same as the other students—practicing lightsaber moves, but somehow, he was different. He went from one motion to the other seamlessly, his eyes on something far away, seemingly unaware he was being watched. The boy was dressed in soft clothing-the same brown robes as the rest of the Jedi. For the first time, Ezra wondered if this was something from the past the strange box was showing him or…

"It is a sort of dream-memory, Padawan." The familiarly accented voice spoke behind him, and he turned around to see the woman from the holo behind him.

"This is a dream?" Ezra asked, coming over to stand in front of her.

The smiling woman nodded, shifting her eyes to the boy who continued to move from pose to pose like a graceful dance. "Partially. It is his dream of a time that now only lives in memory. You are one of the practice rooms in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, as Caleb Dume remembers it."

"I'm asleep?" Ezra asked.

"No. You and I are using the Force and our connection to Caleb to exist here."

Ezra now looked the woman up and down, noticing the lightsaber at her waist. Her dark brown eyes were warm and full of love as she looked out toward the lone figure moving from position to position. He followed her gaze to the brown-haired boy. "It's Kanan, isn't it?" He whispered, eyes wide.

She nodded. "I knew him as Caleb, but yes."

He turned to her, then gasped. "You were his Jedi Master who died." His blue eyes studied her face, as if trying to take in every detail.

"Yes, I am Depa Billaba," she nodded.

"You meant a lot to him. I could tell…how much he missed you when he talked about you."

"And I missed him as well. Our time together was very short, Ezra Bridger." She reached down to smooth a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

"If you're dead…how are you here? Is he…?" Ezra swallowed hard. "Is he dead too?" His face fell and tears threatened.

"Oh no, youngling, he is very much alive." She placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "His need called me to him. From the Force."

"I don't understand." Ezra said.

"Simply know this, I was needed and here I am." She smiled enigmatically, and guided him toward a wooden bench. "Let us sit."

She thought a moment as if trying to decide how to explain, then nodded toward her student. "He is trying desperately to center himself in the Force, and his dreams have brought him here, to a time of safety and peace. We are connecting to him through the Force, and although he is in the hands of the Dark, he has not forgotten who he is. The one you call the Inquisitor has him."

Ezra swallowed hard, still feeling tears in his eyes.

"Do not sorrow, young one. He is not yet lost to us. Caleb…Kanan still stands fully in the Light. But he is in danger, cut off from the Force as he is." She looked gravely at Ezra. "They will try to take the Light from him, and the Dark side of the Force is strong, Ezra. There is danger."

"Is he still on the planet? I have to go…to save him." Ezra looked over through the beams of sunlight coming through the windows and pooling on the floor where Kanan's younger self moved through them. He had only known Kanan a short time, but even now he felt such a deep connection with the man that leaving him there was not an option. Not ever. "I have to go." He looked at Kanan with such worry in his face that the Jedi placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"That is why I have helped bring you here. Your bond with him is strong." Ezra nodded and she continued on. "You will find him on the star destroyer above the planet. They will send him to Mustafar when he does not break, and he will not be able to withstand the redblade who waits for him there. I see in the Force that you must prevent this."

Ezra nodded. "I understand. I will."

She reached out and placed a hand on his head like a blessing, then let her hand slip to his shoulder again. "All is not lost yet. Even though you have yet to begin your training, the Force will guide you, as it always has."

Ezra turned to look at the teenager that had stopped practicing and now stood, lightsaber in his hand, watching them silently. "He really wanted me to be his Padawan?" He whispered.

"Yes, youngling," she replied. "He cares for you as much as I cared for him."

"Can I talk to him?"

"He dreams, Ezra. He may or may not recognize you, but you can certainly try."

Ezra walked through the pools of sunlight to reach Kanan. He was dressed as everyone else in the temple and, like the rest of the younger Jedi, he wore a braid which trailed down behind his right ear. Woven into it were beads and small twists of colored thread. He was taller than Ezra, even in the form of his younger self. Ezra could see the ghost of the man he would become in the youthful face that regarded him.

"Kanan, we are coming to get you. You have to stay strong."

His eyes roved over Ezra's face, not really recognizing him. "I have to get ready." He said distractedly. "The fight will be difficult, but I must be ready to face the Dark."

"You're not alone. We're coming to save you." He watched helplessly as Kanan took a position, spreading his feet on the floor to create a stable base and bringing his lightsaber up to shoulder level, pointing it at an imaginary enemy, arm out at the same angle for balance. He moved to the next form speaking softly: "Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity..."

Ezra knew the words; Kanan had taught them to him before their battle. It was oddly comforting to hear him murmuring them now, with each movement of his body from one position to the next. After glancing back to the tall Chalactan woman that watched them, Ezra turned and finished reciting the code along with him, "—Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force." He noticed that now, Kanan was his older self, but still dressed as he would have been as a Jedi.

Kanan stopped and looked at Ezra. "I know you, don't I?" Kanan said, blue-green eyes filled with confusion. "I'm sorry. I know you, but it's hard to…think. I'm so tired."

Ezra moved to stand in front of him. "I'm Ezra. Your…your Padawan." He swallowed nervously as the words left him for the first time. "We are coming to get you. You have to hold out, Kanan. Be strong."

He smiled, but shook his head. "I'm only sleeping. This is a dream, Padawan." His speech was slow and heavy with thought. "It's a good dream, but it will end. Everything ends, except the Force." Clouds began to form across the Coruscanti skies, and the sunlight faded.

"Kanan, I'm really here. We're **coming** to get you." Ezra placed a hand on his arm.

He focused his eyes on Ezra and frowned. "No. Don't come for me. It's not safe, kid. I can't lose you too." His sad gaze tracked past Ezra to Depa Billaba who stood back, watching them.

"I know." Ezra reached for Kanan's free arm. "But…we **are** **coming** to get you." Ezra insisted again, suddenly wrapping his arms around Kanan in a fierce embrace. "I can't lose you like I lost my parents."

"The dark side is strong." Kanan said as he returned the embrace, placing his cheek against Ezra's hair for a moment. "Too strong. I must train to be ready."

Ezra let him go when he turned to resume training with his bright blue blade. The room began to fade as the light drained rapidly from the sky. "Kanan." He whispered into the dark, but there was no answer at all.

When Ezra returned to himself and opened his eyes, he realized two things. One was that they had to save Kanan and soon. There was no way he could be left in the hands of the Inquisitor to be…to be tortured and turned to the dark side. It was unthinkable.

The other was that something was really, really wrong. Hera's room was full of eyes. Eyes staring at him. The Twi'lek knelt beside him, Zeb was standing near and the eyes of every other person on the ship were now focused on him. Even Chopper was there, standing back with the Academy students. Ezra felt woozy and strange, and he looked around for something to steady himself. That was when he saw that everything not tied or bolted down was floating, levitated by the Force energy in the room.

"Kriff," he muttered, before he got so dizzy he fell into Hera's arms. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the myriad thumps all over the ship as he released his hold on the Force and everything tumbled out of the air to the ground.

* * *

Kanan wasn't sure how much time had passed. He thought he might have slept at some point, but wasn't sure. After the Pau'an had left, he'd waited, feeling the anxiety build and ripple through him like a growing tide. His nerves felt raw and painful and he felt like his heart was running double time. Whatever drugs the kriffing interrogation droid was juicing him with were having an effect, and it was hard to stay still, and impossible to meditate. Touching the Force was out of the question and the jittery feeling had developed into a full-blown panic earlier in the day. He had yelled and screamed for a while, then had hung in the restraints, feeling exhaustion and pain taking their toll. The Force was there, he could feel it, just like something out of reach…like a word on the tip of your tongue that you could never think of.

Now that he had calmed somewhat, he felt empty. Not having the Force at his disposal made escape near to impossible. It was like being blind…or missing a limb. _This is not how I thought I would die_ , he thought somberly as he began to drift off once more. He kept the thought of Hera, Zeb and Ezra, safe somewhere in the universe in the forefront of his mind as sleep began to take him.

As he slept, memories washed over him. When he was awoken by the droid's latest injection of whatever poison they'd chosen this time, he was only able to sense the broken images—the dream's intangible residue. A sun filled practice room in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Master Billaba and Ezra. Ezra telling him they were coming to save him. Wishful thoughts. It was confusing but comforting, and he was trying to fit it all together so it would make sense when he heard the sound of the door. Then footsteps, a lighter gait than the Inquisitor's, made their way into the room.

He groaned as the person grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back roughly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the black smoothness of a mask below a pointed helm. The blankness watched him for long moments.

"I know I'm attractive, but it's rude to stare," he said, struggling to keep the harsh, desperate note from his voice.

"Just wanted to see what a lost Padawan looks like. It's been a while." The mechanical-sounding voice had a sort of purr to it. She let go of his hair, pushing his head back roughly.

He smirked at her with a bravado he didn't feel. _When you can't make it, fake it_ , he thought. "C'mon baby. You coulda just asked—you didn't have to go to all this trouble." He rattled his arms and legs in the restraints of the interrogation table to demonstrate. "Unless you just like it like this-a little kinky, huh? I can play that."

She brought up her hand to her helm and it retracted, revealing the yellowish face of a Mirialan. Red tattoos decorated her face, which wore an amused, predatory smile, as if she might take him up on his offer.

That wasn't good. "Hey—don't I know you? Weren't you a stripper on Gala?" Her expression darkened, so he pushed it and went on, "No? Corellia then, that's gotta be it."

She tilted her head, examining him with her yellow eyes. "Guess again." Her eyes glittered with dangerous fascination as she looked at him. "The answer's little closer to home, Caleb Dume."

His breath caught in his throat when she said his name. He hadn't heard it in so long that he was surprised by the panic that gripped him. Her eyes gleamed with pleasure at his look of sudden pain.

When she smiled, he realized where he'd seen her before. She had been one of the Jedi at the temple, a younger Master, with an even younger Padawan. He hadn't known her personally, but he remembered her in the practice area, bandaging her little Padawan's knee after she had fallen during a lesson in combat techniques. He could remember her soft blue eyes and the way she gently gathered up the little female youngling and set her safely on a bench outside the practice area. Afterwards, she and the little Padawan had resumed their instruction.

It was hard to reconcile that mental image with the harsh-looking shell of a woman in front of him. What had it taken to break her and pervert her kind nature? If she, a full-fledged Jedi, had fallen to the dark side, what hope did he have to resist them? His heart sank at the realization. _No,_ he thought in a panic, _I'll die first._

She had narrowed her eyes at him, so he leaned in. "Hey, I'll tell you a secret." He whispered. She leaned forward slightly to hear him. "The Dark side has been really hard on your looks." He grinned, then recoiled when she punched him in the mouth. It hurt, and he tasted blood. He found that his fists were balled, and he was tensed for a fight, the blood pounding in his ears. It took an effort to relax the tension inside of him, and he wasn't entirely successful.

"You are a mouthy fool," she said, a look of cool anger on her features.

"So. What are you gonna do about it?" He baited her, glaring. "Let me go and we'll fight this out the old-fashioned way, Jedi to Inquisitor." Again, he felt a surge of anger and aggression that he couldn't seem to release. He couldn't move, and a feeling of claustrophobia gripped him. He knew that if he stayed strapped down to this table much longer he would lose any rational thought. Was that what they were pushing him towards? He took a shuddering breath and tried to find the Force for what felt like the millionth time, and it eluded him. Another flash of the sunlit practice room in the temple shone in his head like the memory of a jewel, and he held the memory close like a treasure.

"Nothing would please me more, but the Grand Inquisitor has other plans for you." She said very matter-of-factly as she looked something up on a console in the room.

Kanan forced himself to talk. "I remember you. You were kind to the younglings in the temple. What happened to your Padawan? When did you let them turn you from the Light?"

"After the Purge, I was smart enough to recognize the weakness of the light side. Through the dark side, I have grown stronger than you'd ever imagine." She paused, tapping something into the interrogation droid's display and carefully avoiding his eyes.

"Did she die at your hand? Or was her death the thing that turned you?" Kanan hoped to see some chink in her armor of hatred, but it was smooth black durasteel.

"She was the thing holding me back from my true potential. When she was dead, I took my place at the Pau'an's side. You could have a spot at our side as well, Padawan."

"Never," he shook his head. "Unlike you, I will never embrace the dark side."

"Now let me ask you a question…" she finished up with her work, then leaned in, "how did it feel when you saw Depa Billaba die on Kaller? You were very young; you must have been lost without her. The Light didn't save her, so why hold to it now, Jedi Padawan?"

Kanan's jaw tightened with pain and he looked away.

"So foolish. So afraid." She reached forward and ran her fingers down his face, even though he drew back as far as he could. "I can sense the guilt you carry over her death. It is so heavy a burden—you ache to lay it down, but you cannot." Her black pupils glittered as she watched him.

A single tear tracked its way down his face as he took a shuddering breath, his grief a wound that she'd reopened and dug into with her words. "You know nothing of me," he said, his voice low.

She wiped the tear away, an oddly gentle gesture for such an evil creature. "You would make a strong Inquisitor, Caleb Dume. You could save your friends. If you do not turn, we will hunt the child until we take him. He will be so much easier to break. One or the other of you will be added to our ranks." Her fingers trailed down his face, and wiped the blood oozing from his split lip. She shook her head at him. "Such a waste to kill such a pretty one," she purred, tilting her head to the side as she watched him react to her, knowing she now had the upper hand.

He closed his eyes and moved away from her as far as his restraints would allow. Her touch made him feel sick. She moved her hands to his shirt, slipping it up and checking the blaster wounds in his side. They'd not given him any bacta or painkiller for them. "Those look agonizing, and infected." She scanned his face for his reaction. "Pain can be a very effective motivator without medicine or meditation to ameliorate it."

She let his shirt drop. Kanan still hadn't replied to her, but focused his eyes down and away from her, on a spot on the wall. "Done talking then, my pet? Very well." She let her hand trail over his hip for a moment, and he shuddered, but whether it was the cold room or his loathing her touch, she couldn't tell. "Good night," she headed for the door, then paused, "or is it good morning? No matter for you. You're not going anywhere." There was dark laughter, then she was gone, and for the first time, the lights went off and he was left alone in darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: (The Holocron's words were paraphrased from this website: "The Jediism Way.") Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter is coming along nicely!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15.

Hera, Sabine and the rest were climbing back up the ramp of the _Ghost_ as Sabine described what she'd found. "It's him?" she asked Sabine skeptically.

"Yeah. They have a picture of Kanan and it says—holy kriff!"

Hera, Zeb, Sabine, Hobbie and Wedge stopped in their tracks as they realized the two crates in the cargo bay had apparently had self-levitated and were now slowly turning in the air as if gravity was non-functioning. A Harris wrench floated by Sabine, twisting slowly end over end in the air.

Hera found Zeb's eyes. "Ezra—" Hera said in a strangled tone. She ran to the ladder, and took it two rungs at a time. Zeb followed.

"C'mon." Sabine said, drawing a blaster. She wasn't sure what the danger was, but the weight of it felt good in her hand. She climbed the ladder to the upper level, followed by Hobbie and Wedge, their weapons drawn as well.

"What the frack?" Hobbie muttered as they entered the hallway and saw that everything they'd left on the table after breakfast this morning was now floating.

Hera went into Zeb's room first, but it was empty. Chopper joined them as they next went to Kanan's room. Still nothing. Hera was almost hit by a datapad which was sailing through the air as she opened the door to her room. Everything not tied down was hovering, and at the center…was Ezra. She immediately went to him and knelt beside where he sat on the floor holding a metal box that emitted a blue light. The light slowly faded and Ezra looked up at them with wide eyes. "Kriff…" he breathed. He swayed and then fell, senseless, into Hera's arms.

* * *

"Just take it easy." Zeb held the mug as Ezra drank some water from it. "Slow and steady." The kid was leaning up against Hera but as he became aware of things around him again, he sat up and took the mug in his own hands, coughing a little when the water went down the wrong way.

"You okay?" Hera asked, checking his eyes. He definitely looked more with them, now. Those beaming blue eyes didn't seem as empty as they had been when he passed out.

He nodded in response, then glanced at the three academy students who were watching him. "Um…" He shifted his gaze to Hera and then Zeb, unsure of what to say. "Lothcat out of the bag?"

Hera looked at the three students. They were well aware of Kanan's Force abilities, but she didn't know how much they'd known about Ezra. "I don't…uh… don't suppose you'd believe all that was just a problem with the gravity control?" She raised one eyebrow.

The three of them shook their heads silently, looking at Ezra with a mix of awe and respect. "Never thought I'd see one, let alone two…I mean we saw…we saw something during the escape…but we weren't sure…" Wedge explained. They gestured to the Jedi artifact beside Ezra. Everyone had seen the faint blue holo of the Jedi woman hovering over the box before it had tumbled from Ezra's hands. "So **you're** a Jedi too?" Wedge asked, unable to take his eyes from Ezra.

"No. Not yet. I mean…" The teen seemed to be struggling for words to describe his connection with the Force. "It's hard to explain…I was trying to learn from Kanan." He felt like he just wanted to hide under a bunk and not be seen. Did they know too much? He had a feeling that he could trust them.

Sabine stepped forward and knelt where Ezra sat between Zeb and Hera. "Ezra. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we won't tell anyone about you. We'll keep your secret, I promise." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

Hobbie spoke up from behind her. "I had a little cousin…her name was Mala. She could do things like that too. The Empire tried to steal her away, but… her parents took her on the run. You can trust me with your secret."

Wedge nodded his agreement. "We owe you and…Kanan and everyone else. You don't have to worry about us."

"Th-Thanks." Ezra looked around the room at each one of them, then turned to Hera. "We've got to save Kanan."

"Ezra…" Hera could barely get the words out. Sabine had been trying to tell her something about Kanan when they'd been making their way back to the ship, but she hadn't had a chance to finish. Hera found herself wondering if the two things were connected.

"No. He's not. He's not dead." Ezra looked around at all of them. "I saw him. He's alive."

"How?" Hera asked. "Ezra…you must have been dreaming…"

"It was like a . . .I don't know. A vision? I saw Kanan's Jedi Master too…It was…like nothing I've ever seen before, Hera. I talked to both of them." Ezra's large blue eyes seemed to beg her to believe him.

Hera's shifted her gaze to Zeb, who looked thoughtful. Then she turned to Sabine when the girl spoke. "He's right about Kanan; that's what I was trying to tell you when we walked in here and saw everything floating like Cloud City. They have him on the star destroyer above Lothal. It leaves in two days for Mustafar for 'advanced interrogation.' There are some . . .high level Imperials on that planet." She looked grave.

Ezra struggled to his feet. "We gotta go before then. Kanan's Jedi Master told me he would die…if he faced the redblade that waits on Mustafar."

Hera took a few deep breaths. This was insane. The Ghost against an Imperial Destroyer? Impossible. Yet, she couldn't accept abandoning him. "Stars, I want him saved. But…we're just one ship, unless we use…"

Sabine nodded, finishing her sentence. "The transport. That's how we'll get on board. I'll need to find an Imperial clearance code so that we can land on the destroyer."

"It _would_ be easier for a small force to slip in and rescue Kanan." Zeb said thoughtfully.

"We could turn their attention outward with an attack on the destroyer." Hera mused. "I have a contact with an agent who might be able to enlist the help of another rebel cell. Three or four fast ships may be enough…" She got to her feet. "I'll contact them. Sabine—"

"I'll get to work on those clearance codes. C'mon Chopper." Sabine tapped him on the dome. Hobbie and Wedge followed.

"Guess that leaves me and you." Zeb said, looking at Ezra. "You didn't eat yet, and there's still plenty of space waffles. C'mon and you can tell me more about what you saw." Ezra followed him and Zeb could see the kid really did look better, now that they had a plan. Maybe they'd pull this thing off, yet.

* * *

"I'm not leaving him there!" Hera slammed her fist into the control panel of the Ghost as she heard Fulcrum's words.

"You have to. You put everyone at risk if you try to save him. You and your team will most certainly die, or worse, fall into the Empire's hands."

Hera glared at the holo, which only revealed the shadowed cowl of Fulcrum. The pilot lifted her chin defiantly. Did the rebellion leader not have a heart? "We'll have a better chance if you could convince another cell to back us up on this. You've heard our plan, and it's solid. Kanan can be an asset to the rebellion."

"I'm not risking other rebel assets for just one man. You need to think about your whole team, Hera. What's so special about this Kanan Jarrus?"

Hera took a deep breath and tried to control herself. What she really wanted to do was reach out and shake Fulcrum right now. She wanted to tell Fulcrum about Kanan's Jedi past, but she couldn't bring herself to do it—perhaps it was just stubbornness, but it wasn't her secret to tell. "He's a part of my team. He has saved our lives on more than one occasion. We owe him, Fulcrum. If you can't see why we have to do this, then maybe this is not my rebellion after all. You don't leave friends behind to be tortured and killed by the Empire."

"I'm not saying that, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. You have to let this folly go. You can't risk everyone's lives, and you're too valuable to lose. Jarrus must have understood it as well if he had chosen to help our cause. If he's half as capable as you say he is in a fight, then he'd tell you the same."

 _That's exactly why we have to go_ , Hera thought, disappointed with Fulcrum's response to this. How many missions had she run for the mysterious operative? And now when she needed help, there was nothing there? She spoke through gritted teeth. "If we don't make it, I guess you're going to have to figure out how to get along without my team. We attack the destroyer above Lothal at 0500, if you change your mind about sending help."

"Hera…this is a suicide mi-"

She cut transmission and sat back in her chair, bringing her hands up to scrub at her face. Was she doing the right thing? Was she risking their lives for nothing? Perhaps Fulcrum had a point…maybe this **was** a suicide mission. Ezra, Sabine…Wedge and Hobbie…they were essentially just kids. She bit her lip.

But it felt like they were making the right choice. She had always done what felt right in her heart, and she couldn't live with the idea of leaving Kanan behind. He would have come for one of them if the situation were reversed. She didn't know how she knew that, but she was certain it was true.

"Hera." There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." She looked up to see Zeb joining her.

"I figured you were done 'cause the yelling stopped. She didn't like the idea, huh?" The Lasat came and folded himself into the co-pilot's chair.

Hera looked up, a bitter expression on her features. "She said that this is foolish. A suicide mission. That we shouldn't risk it." She waited, measuring his reaction. "Zeb. They're kids…I…I know what I think we should do—what feels right, but am I being selfish? You know…you know how I feel about him." She sighed with frustration as the admission caused her cheeks to flush.

Zeb thought for a moment, a sign that he really was weighing her worries. Finally, he looked up. "Hera…the way I see it-if we lived in a perfect world, then yes. They shouldn't have to do these things. But …the Empire has hurt us all. Your mother…Ezra's parents…my home on Lasan...the students…have their own reasons for leaving the Empire, but we all have a reason to fight. Don't deny them the chance to make the world…their world…a better place. They deserve to a chance to fight back. The Empire made them fighters, not us."

She studied his eyes for long moments, then nodded. Zeb was always straight with her, and surprisingly level-headed, just when she needed it. She didn't know what she would do without him. "Okay. That's what I hoped you'd say, but I had to be sure."

"They're all in there waiting for what you're going to say. Sabine's already found a code that will work. Ezra's been telling us about seeing Kanan. It's an incredible story and the data the girl found backs it all up." Zeb reached out and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Even if you said no, they would load up in the transport and go anyway, so don't trouble yourself about it."

She laughed gently. "What would I do without you?"

He scratched his beard, looking thoughtful again. "I bet you'd still do okay." He stood up. "C'mon, they need to hear from you."

She nodded and joined him. "Let's go plan this mission."

* * *

"What do you know of a larger rebellion? We know the Twi'lek and the Lasat have been involved in several missions to disrupt Imperial operations in the Lothal sector." The Inquisitor leaned in, and to punctuate his words, his fist dug into Kanan's injured side.

It took everything Kanan had not to scream. He saw blackness for long moments, as his harsh, ragged breathing was the only sound in the room. When he could talk again, he let loose a string of Huttese expletives that would have made the crew on a spice freighter blush.

"Very well. I tried to give you an alternative before I moved on to the boy." He turned to one of the supply tables in the room.

"What boy?" Kanan's voice, hoarse with screaming, was barely able to be heard. It hurt to talk, but he forced the words out anyway, licking his chapped lips. "What boy…?"

"The Bridger boy. We caught him yesterday attempting to rescue you. Pathetic, really. Have you taught him nothing? He is mine now and I will remedy that situation." He turned with a holo-emitter, which showed Ezra, strapped to his own interrogation table. He was kicking and screaming, but to no avail.

"He is not yours." Kanan growled in his low rasp, eyes glittering darkly. The Inquisitor switched the emitter off and placed it on a nearby tray with syringes and other implements. He turned and regarded Kanan thoughtfully.

"The child wears my marks, doesn't he?" The Inquisitor leaned in, enjoying the anger and pain he was causing. "Maybe this time, I'll mark his face to remind him what side he belongs to."

The last comment took away the last vestiges of Kanan's self-control. He wanted to put his hands around the Pau'an's neck and squeeze the life out of him. To watch him squirm and fight for air. To feel the movement of his body weaken as he died.

Seeing Ezra in their hands, and knowing what the Pau'an had done to him before, Kanan gave himself up to the feeling of hatred inside him. The drugs they'd given him had made touching the Force in his usual way next to impossible, but the blind anger brought the dark side very close indeed. He could feel its cold power at the edges of his senses as he brushed it with fingertips, unable to grasp it.

"Good…I sense the dark side in you. Your hatred is strong." The Inquisitor leaned forward avidly, deeply studying Kanan's every expression.

"No…" Kanan squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. It was not the hatred that scared him, crashing against him like black ocean waves, but the fact that he no longer cared about controlling the dark tide. He should care—he knew he should care, but there was nothing left to lose. He trembled on the knife's edge of something dark and horrible.

"You have the Dark in you. Don't deny what you feel." the Pau'an purred.

There was a growling noise as Kanan opened his eyes, glaring at the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor was gasping for air suddenly, an invisible hand squeezing his throat. "This was what you wanted, right?" Kanan snarled, finally able to get his grasp on the dark power that now coursed through him.

He kept his hold on the dark side as long as he could, groaning in pain when his strength slipped—the Inquisitor then took in a breath as the invisible crushing pressure on his neck let up. Kanan collapsed limply in the restraints; the effort of what he'd done causing the world to grey out around him.

The Inquisitor began to grin, despite the pain, his pointed teeth making it a hideous rictus. Then he laughed, which froze Kanan's heart. "You **ARE** stronger than I thought, Caleb Dume. You will make a fine gift for Lord Vader and the Emperor." As he spoke, the Inquisitor's comm went off. He answered it while watching Kanan warily. The Jedi had been at the end of his strength, at a breaking point, but instead of falling apart, he'd grasped the Dark. The effort of breaking through the drug-induced Force suppression had caused his nose to bleed. Caleb Dume was strong indeed. "Yes? What is it?"

"Grand Inquisitor, the destroyer is being attacked." There was a tremble in the voice on the other end, as if the speaker was afraid to give the news.

"How serious is it?" The Pau'an asked, annoyed, but knowing they would not have interrupted him for something trivial.

"Sir, you may want to make your way up to the deck. There are only two of them, but they are both ships that were involved in the escape of the Imperial students."

The Inquisitor's eyes narrowed. "They are here to rescue the Jedi. I'm on my way." He clicked off his comm and eyed Kanan. "Time to finish off the Lasat and the Twi'lek for good." He turned to the interrogation droid. "Give him another dose of H4b and X-C33, a double dose this time. If they do get this far, they'll have to drag him out of here." There was a swish as the Grand Inquisitor left the room.

Kanan lifted his head slowly, feeling the dark side bleed away. He was exhausted as the interrogation droid injected him once again in the arm. If Zeb and Hera were here for rescue, it was hopeless. Two against a destroyer? A suicide mission.

The warm fuzziness of the sedative began to flood his bloodstream. He fought it, trying to focus on the restraints that held him in the interrogation chair. He needed to be free so he could somehow help Hera and Zeb, if that was even possible. He closed his eyes and tried to find the thread of the Force with his dulled senses. Not having the strength of his anger, it felt nearly impossible. He was like a blind man, trying to feel his way in the darkness. Once…twice…three times…the Force slipped through his fingers, but finally he was able to grasp it, like the smallest youngling holding on to the Light for the first time. He put the entirety of his will into depressing the button and unlocking the restraints.

A fine sweat had broken out on his forehead as he stared at the control. Such a small thing to move. He groaned in pain. The red light turned green, and he fell to the floor, muscles spasming from being held immobile so long. He tried to get to his feet, but it was impossible. A wave of dizziness forced his head down and he laid on the floor, trying to get the feeling to subside. His eyes were so heavy. He blinked slowly once, then twice. Then his eyes stayed closed.

* * *

"Did the Padawan believe the holo?"

"Of course he did. Without the Force to tell him differently, he lost control of his emotions and found the dark side." It had certainly been different than any other interrogation he'd ever conducted. The boy would be the Jedi's undoing.

"How did he break through the X-C33?"

"He became distraught over the idea of the boy being in our custody. It is his weakness and we will exploit it utterly." The Inquisitor gestured to a dark corridor off of the hallway where the Jedi Padawan was being held. "Wait here. If they DO somehow get on board and come for him, you know what to do. If it's the Twi'lek or the boy, keep them alive. They will be invaluable in urging on our Jedi's transformation." The Grand Inquisitor placed a hand on Seven's shoulder before turning and heading toward the bridge.

Like a spider, the Seventh Sister retreated into the dark of the passage to lie in wait for her prey.

* * *

Zeb allowed Sabine and Wedge to push him down the hallway, Ezra leading the group. The binders he wore chafed, and he could feel the end of Wedge's blaster in his back. They passed troopers on the way, but none of them paid any attention to the three troopers escorting a Lasat to the detention level. They probably thought he was a Wookie, like everyone else in the blasted galaxy. This time it would play in their favor.

Zeb watched as Ezra adjusted one of the plates on his ill-fitting armor. The kid was small, almost too small to pass with the stolen armor, but it did make him look a bit larger. Everyone looked small next to the Lasat, anyway, so they hopefully wouldn't attract too much notice.

"Move, you ugly wookie." Wedge was making it look good for the Imperial administrator coming down the hallway.

"A Wookie?" The administrator asked in a clipped, Imperial tone.

"Yes, sir. Captured down on the planet. We were ordered to take him to detention. He's to be questioned."

The administrator leaned in and sniffed. "Ugh! I didn't remember them having such a stench! Get him out of here."

"Yes, sir. You heard him, you ugly bastard, move!"

They rounded the corner and Wedge sagged. "Thought we were done for sure."

"You were great." Sabine said. "Which way, Ezra?"

Ezra closed his eyes under the helmet and sent out his senses for the briefest moment. He could barely feel the faint whisper of Kanan's Force signature. "Up a few floors, I think."

"That jibes with my information." Sabine said. "Let's keep moving."

* * *

"They're moving up to the detention level." Hera commed Hobbie. "Let's get this **done**."

"Yes, sir!" Hobbie replied, a grin on his features as they jumped from hyperspace to right outside the destroyer. He was scared, but being on the right side at last felt good. "This is for you, Mala," he whispered to himself, thinking of his cousin in hiding.

"Watch your back out here." Hera's smooth voice, calm and confident, came over the comm. "Team one, we are beginning our attack." She knew that if they were overheard, it would make the Empire think there were more attacks coming, but it would also let Ezra's team know the timeline.

"They're deploying the TIEs." Hobbie said, firing on one of the destroyer's ventral batteries.

"I've got four." The TIESs split into two groups, one group after the _Ghost_ and one after the _Phantom_.

The two pilots began firing as they flew evasively, causing the TIEs to follow them. Hera attempted a loop, pulling the _Ghost_ in such a tight arc that the ship groaned. "Stay with me, baby," she muttered. Coming up behind the two TIEs, she fired and blew one out of the sky.

"I can't shake this one!" Hobbie had also taken out a TIE, but the other one seemed to have a lock on him.

"I got it." Hera said, seeing that the other TIE on her tail had whizzed past and would have to take time to arc around to get in another shot. In the meantime, she targeted the TIE on Hobbie. There was an explosion which they both flew through, before her previous TIE caught up. Hera plummeted in a steep dive, but couldn't seem to evade his shots.

"I'm taking damage! Hobbie—Some help here please!" She banked and rolled, taking a few more shots. "Shields down to 60%."

"I'm trying!" Hobbie cried. "They just launched more TIEs." Ships flew toward them from the hangar of the destroyer.

"How many?" Hera called.

"A couple short of a squadron."

"Kriff. Chopper! I'm need those shields at 100% now!"

Hobbie looked up to see six ships drop out of hyperspace near them. "Oh Frack," he muttered. "We've got even more company."

"Where?" Hera called.

"Six off my starboard. Hope they're on our side or this is gonna get real bad real quick..."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you are having as much fun as I am! Reviews are awesome, so be awesome and please leave one! OH and BTW-I posted the last chapter Thursday before the holiday, so if you missed it for some reason, go back and read Chapter 14.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: School is OUT for the summer! Fanfic is IN! Lol! Hope the chapters will come a little faster now. I just had to get this exactly right for you, and I had a few days of migraines (long story) and hence the delay. Please drop me a line and let me know what you think! :) I'd appreciate it!**

 **Warnings: Just the typical as for the last two chapters. Descriptions of injury and blood.**

* * *

Chapter 16

Ezra held his breath as Sabine broke open the control panel for the door and went to work on it. "C'mon Sabine," Wedge muttered. "The guards could be coming back any minute."

Zeb glanced over his shoulder from covering the rear. "Hurry it up." He looked around uneasily. "I have a bad feeling about this."

There was a beep and the hatch slid open. "Kanan-" Ezra said in a strangled tone. He was first inside, followed by the others.

Kanan was sprawled on the floor, his body limp. Ezra hesitated in going to him until he saw the rise and fall of his breathing, then he ran forward, knelt beside him and rolled Kanan over. The blood streaking his face didn't look good. "Kanan. Kanan, wake up."

"Keep an eye on the hallway." Zeb said to Wedge, kneeling on the other side of Kanan. He could feel that his friend had a fever when he put his paw on Kanan's shoulder. "Ezra, he's feverish. We gotta get him out of here, kid."

Ezra shook Kanan's shoulder, but did it gently, not wanting to jostle him too much. "Kanan, we're here." When he didn't receive a reaction, he tried brushing against Kanan's mind, using the Force.

There was a groan from the injured Jedi. Kanan's bluish-green eyes seemed too bright in his fevered face when he finally opened them and looked around. His gaze drifted to Ezra, only seeing him after staring for long uncomprehending moments. "Ezra…you're okay?"

Ezra could see that Kanan's reactions were slow and confused. He realized they must have treated Kanan the same way they'd treated him when he'd been their prisoner, and he paled. "Yeah. I'm good." Kanan nodded and his eyes drifted closed once more. Ezra shook him almost in a panic. "Kanan, we're here to get you out."

Zeb added, "Kanan…if we stay here any longer…"

"You won't be able to escape at all." A cold, humorless voice said from behind them.

* * *

The world was full of whirling, sickening color and pain. Kanan could hear voices…but not what they were saying. When he'd tumbled out of the interrogation chair, he'd tried to get to the door, knowing Ezra was somewhere on the station in the clutches of the Grand Inquisitor. He'd collapsed as the last sedative injection hit him, sure that there was no way he'd ever be able to save the kid. When he'd seen Ezra alive and unharmed, the relief that flooded his senses was palpable, then he dropped back into the fuzzy blanket of sleep.

 **She will kill them.** He sensed the Mirialan as the dark side nudged him.

One of Sabine's blasters went off, then there was a shriek as they were torn from her. This was bad. Kanan began getting to his feet, using the interrogation table for leverage, when the Mandalorian slammed into a wall near him and fell to the ground. His eyes darted from Sabine to Zeb and Wedge, who hung from invisible fetters, gasping for breath.

 **Take hold of the power. Save them.**

He shook his head, trying to clear it. The dark side throbbed against him like a heartbeat. Everything was confused and fragmented. He could see the kicking motions of Sabine's feet barely able to scrape the floor.

Now he saw the Inquisitor was speaking into her comm. "…Grand Inquisitor, I have the boy and his friends."

"Good, Seven. Hold them until I arrive."

 **Save your friends.** The voice lowered until it was just a sinuous whisper, creeping into the deepest part of his soul, whispering to his fears. He had to save them, but not that way.

Kanan held out a hand, reaching for the Light, but under the influence of all the mood-altering drugs, his mind was too full of anger-too full of fear for Ezra and the others. Not being able to center himself, the Light was impossible to find. He watched helplessly as Ezra stood up to the Sister bravely, hands clenched into fists as he stood protectively in front of them all.

"No! You're not going to hurt them." Ezra shook his head. Kanan could practically see him shining with the light side, and he felt a rising tide of worry for his Padawan.

"Oh yes, youngling. They are all mine. But you…you will be the Grand Inquisitor's apprentice and he will complete your training as he completed mine, and the sisters and brothers before me. You have many painful lessons to learn, child." The Mirialan's mouth turned down in a sneer as she made a motion and Ezra began to struggle against the Force. A scalpel from the table across the room flew at her, a streak of metal. She ducked it and it thunked hard into the wall near her head. Her eyes flicked to Kanan, barely able to stay on his feet by clinging to the chair. She dismissed him as harmless, then turned back to Ezra. Two more instruments flew at her but they were pushed away harmlessly. She narrowed her eyes in concentration and used the dark side to push him to his knees in front of her.

Kanan knew what would happen with a leaden dread in the pit of his stomach. Without doubt they would turn Ezra to the Dark. His Padawan would try to resist, but in the end, his good, pure spirit would be subverted for evil, just as in Kanan's vision. Just remembering his vision made him desperate. He had to prevent it.

Ezra was locked in place. Kanan watched as the female Inquisitor took a few steps forward and reached out, pinching his face in one of her hands and yanking it up. "The Grand Inquisitor was upset to lose you. Now I see why. Your time with the Jedi has awakened your Force abilities. Even though they are weak now, there is much potential here. You will become strong with the dark side, little one." She stroked his cheek with her thumb and a moan of fear burst from Ezra.

"Over my dead body." Kanan said in a rough voice, limping forward. The Dark wove around him, making him stronger as he accepted its loathsome caresses.

This was the only way. Even though everything inside him rejected it, he reached for the dark side and used it to push back the Seventh Sister. Ezra struggled to his feet and Kanan put a hand on the boy's shoulder and took the lead, placing Ezra behind him. "Stay behind me." He said, never taking his focus from the Seventh Sister.

"Your hatred of me has made you strong with the dark side." She smiled cruelly until Kanan brought his palm up and threw her back against the doorframe harder this time. He could feel the power of the dark thrumming through the bones in his body and he felt a fresh surge of hate for the creature standing in front of him. Hatred for what she had done to his friends, hatred for what she had done to him and hatred for what she wanted to do to Ezra.

"I hope this is what you wanted." Kanan spat bitterly as he closed his fist and she started gasping for air. She brought her arm up and felt around for something on her back. He pulled his hand toward him, then pushed it towards her, watching as the Sister's head was pulled forward, then slammed back into the bulkhead. Her arm dropped as he leaned in. "This is what hatred does. This is where fear leads," he growled. "This is what you reap when you embrace the Dark." He clenched his fist again and she began again to struggle violently, but to no avail.

 **Finish her.**

Kanan repeated his gesture of earlier, slamming the female Inquisistor's head into the bulkhead. As he felt the dark side pouring in upon him, a bloody haze blurred his vision, and he wanted to see the life draining from her yellow eyes.

* * *

Hera took a sharp turn and dove to face the newcomers. Six ARC-170 fighters had dropped out of hyperspace, then five more, a moment after Hobbie's warning.

"Kriff!" she muttered, readying herself to take a shot at the leader. A voice came over the comm frequency as she zoomed in.

"Spectre leader, this is Convor leader. A mutual friend suggested that you might need some help at this location." The voice was coming over the comm frequency that Hera always used with Fulcrum. "Sorry we're a bit late for the party."

Hera began to grin. Fulcrum had come through after all. "Better late than never. We are glad to see you, Convor Squadron. We have to hold here until our people are out of the destroyer."

"I think we can help with that, Ma'am," came the reply as the lead ship, emblazoned on one wing with an orange convor, flew past to blow up a TIE that had come across his path.

"I'll never understand these Imps," came a younger voice across the comm. "It's like they're just lookin' to die."

"They're buyin' the Depp in droves, Fizz. And I'm happy to oblige." A female pilot answered as she took one off of Hobbie's tail.

"Thanks for the assist. It was getting a little hot there." Hobbie replied, arcing around to engage another of the TIEs.

"You bet, Spectre. You got two converging off your starboard."

"Got 'em." Hobbie and the female pilot engaged the TIEs as Hera saw trouble on the rear of the leader's ARC 170.

"Not all of them are bantha fodder. Watch your backs out there." Hera dove on the TIE, who now had a lock on the leader's six. The Convorees seemed to know what they were doing; obviously, they had been flying together for a long while. She was aware that Fulcrum's network was quite extensive, but she'd never expected 11 ships to back her up here. Just how big was the rebellion getting? she wondered. "If we ever meet face-to-face, Convor leader, the drinks are on me."

A chuckle came across the comms as the leader exchanged fire with another TIE. "Never said no to a drink yet, Spectre leader. Stay sharp out there."

* * *

"Kanan!" Ezra knew something was terribly wrong when everything became shuddering cold around the two of them.

The Jedi's reply was a wordless growl.

Ezra felt a spike of fear run through him. Kanan was not acting like himself, and now that he knew what it was, he could recognize the dark side all around them. Just minutes before, the former Jedi had been too weak to stand and now he was about to choke the life out of the Mirialan. It was as if the dark side of the Force had possessed him completely.

What was he supposed to do?

Moments passed while the Mirialan choked and sputtered. Kanan leaned in, teeth clenched as he growled with the effort it was taking to keep the Inquisitor pinned. _No, no, no. This isn't the way_ , Ezra thought in panic. He gathered himself and did what Kanan had instructed him to do if the Inquisitor came back into his dreams. He yelled, using the Force, as loud as he possibly could.

Kanan startled, then looked over where Ezra stood at his side. They shared each other's gaze for long moments.

 _Don't_ , Ezra thought at him, sensing the Jedi's pain and confusion as the dark side drained away.

Kanan let the Inquisitor go, and the boy watched the cold, unnatural anger dissipate from Kanan's eyes as he continued to stare at Ezra. _It was the only way_ … _but the Dark was…strong_ , Kanan thought as he began to sway on his feet, close to passing out.

The Inquisitor slumped unconscious on the floor, a trail of blood trailing from one nostril, the whites of her eyes showing. Her helmet had cracked with the force Kanan had used to slam her head against the durasteel. Kanan fell back two steps and would have hit the ground if not for Ezra. Then Zeb was there in an instant, helping Ezra keep Kanan upright.

"Alright there, big guy. Take it easy." Zeb looked to Ezra. "We'll watch the door. Check the rest of them. I got a feelin' we don't have much time."

Ezra went first to Sabine, then to Wedge. They were hurt, but able to walk. Sabine was bleeding from the head and holding her arm awkwardly; Ezra helped her retrieve her blasters, and she took one in her good hand. Wedge was a little better off, recovering his blaster from the floor and keeping it trained on the Inquisitor as he rubbed his throat.

"We better go." Zeb slung his bo-rifle over his shoulder, but kept it in his hand so that he could use it if needed. His other arm was slung around Kanan, who was shivering miserably. He frowned, not knowing as much about human anatomy, but chalking it up to some sort of shock. "Hera and Hobbie can't hold them off forever, and we're gonna have company." He called to the kid. "Better step it up over there."

"We're ready." Ezra came to slip an arm under Kanan's other shoulder.

Wedge led the way, and Sabine covered the rear. When the door slipped closed behind them, she leveled her blaster at it and melted the controls. It wouldn't stop an inquisitor with a lightsaber, but it would slow them down a little bit.

With both Ezra and Zeb to help Kanan, he didn't slow them up nearly as much as Zeb had feared, and they made their way back towards the hangar. Ezra hissed once, gaining Wedge's attention and pointing to a different hallway than the one they'd chosen in planning the mission. Just as they ducked into it, there was the sound of running feet, as they hid against the wall, holding their breath as the echo faded down the corridor. When Zeb looked at Ezra, he saw the kid had his eyes tightly closed, along with Kanan. "You okay?" He whispered, shifting Kanan against his shoulder a little.

"Yeah. It was the Inquisitor…" Ezra opened his eyes once the danger passed. He had hidden himself as Kanan had taught him, and stayed invisible in the Force from the evil searching presence.

"He's searching for us…" Kanan's voice was different than it had been when talking to the Inquisitor. Now it was hoarse and full of pain. "Zeb. He's not just gonna let us go." He winced in pain, pressing a hand to his side, which had begun to bleed again.

"He's keeping you over MY dead body." Zeb replied with a growl. "No way we're gonna leave you behind again, so don't you kriffin' suggest it. He's gonna lock this place down tight in just a minute, if he hasn't already," Zeb adjusted Kanan against him, "So c'mon. We've got transportation. We just have to get you there."

Ezra saw Kanan's eyes lock on him as he nodded. "Not…not much longer." He said, supporting the Jedi's right side and starting off again.

They took two more detours to avoid patrols, and came out into the hangar from the opposite side.

"Captain, we've retrieved the package. We're close to checkout time." Wedge spoke into his wrist comm.

There was a pause, as if Hera were digesting the information. "Copy that. Let us know what you need. We have found some unexpected backup." Ezra thought he could hear the smile in Hera's voice. "Get everyone home safely and…may the Force be with you."

"We might need that." Wedge muttered, looking across the mostly empty hangar bay. They would have to make their way to the shuttle across that vacant space, sure to draw attention. As he clicked off his comm, he turned to everyone. "So, any ideas as to how we do this?"

* * *

There were more than three ways to the hangar, and the Grand Inquisitor covered them all with troopers once he realized that his prey had escaped. The Seventh Sister was being taken to the med bay; after finding she had failed him, he had disciplined her severely. She would need medical attention to survive, but if she did, she wouldn't be likely to forget the lesson. He cared little either way. What he wanted was the Jedi and the boy.

He emerged from the hangar closest to a transport, one of the few ships left in the hangar bay. Many of the ships had been called to defend the destroyer from the other Rebels. The addition of a new group of Rebel ships had slowed him down in getting back to Seven and the Jedi's friends. Certainly, the Jedi and his friends couldn't all escape in a TIE, so his best bet was the transport. He hid himself as close to the transport as he dared and waited, sending his senses out so that he would know when they approached. They would all die horribly. And if the Jedi and his whelp didn't comply, they'd die too.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Next Chapter Preview (18): Kanan and Ezra have a long awaited talk; Kanan finds his path and Ezra needs a kyber crystal for that lightsaber he's been building. So good stuff is coming, you just have to slog through this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 17

"It looks like they pulled most of the troopers from this section to search for us." Zeb said as he looked out across the empty hangar. "I say let's make a run for it, quickly." He glanced to Ezra and Kanan. "Do you sense anything?"

Ezra shook his head. Kanan was hunched over, hand pressed against his bleeding side. The former Jedi murmured, "I…I'm not sure." His sense of the Force was blunted and he couldn't seem to sense if they should make a run for it or not.

"Let's do it. The longer we stay, the more the danger." Sabine's eyes glittered with readiness. Wedge nodded in agreement.

"Same formation," Zeb replied. "Cover us if anything happens. We'll get Kanan on the ship first, then deal with the threat if there is one."

They began making their way across the bay, keeping to the back wall. Zeb could see the space battle through the magnetic shield. It looked like Hera was holding her own, Zeb thought. _Just a little bit longer_ , he told her in his mind.

They rounded the transport, but there was a rather large stack of crates at the head of the ship that hadn't been there before. Wedge paused a moment, raising a hand to halt the others. Kanan looked up, worry on his face.

There was the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber and the Grand Inquisitor stepped out from behind the stack. He used the Force to throw Wedge and Sabine back twenty feet. "You have led us on quite a chase, Jedi. But now the running is over. There is no escape this time."

Overcome with anger, Zeb's growl was more like a roar as he leapt for the Inquisitor. With a quick motion, the Inquisitor flicked his lightsaber so that it bit into Zeb's shoulder, at the same time, using the Force to push the Lasat back into the side of the ship.

As he turned to aim the killing blow at Zeb, two things happened almost simultaneously. First, there was a metallic chink that caused the Inquisitor to hesitate. The Padawan's lightsaber had flown off of his belt and across the room. He raised his saber again to kill but-

Ezra screamed at the same moment, Force-pushing back the distracted Inquisitor. His quick reaction gave Zeb time to scramble to his feet and retreat. Later, Ezra wouldn't know how to explain how he did it, but at the moment it was automatic, like breathing.

Kanan had been full of panic as soon as he'd seen the Inquisitor, arm out as if he could reach out and stop the Pau'an from killing Zeb. He'd desperately scrabbled for a hold on the Force, when suddenly it began to surge through him and his lightsaber flew into his hand. Not knowing where the strength came from, but not questioning it, Kanan moved in front of Zeb and Ezra, standing tall, lightsaber raised and shining like a blue star as he pointed it at his foe.

"Ezra. Zeb. In the ship." Kanan ordered. His voice was tight with the effort it was taking to stand on his own and face the Inquisitor. "Sabine! Wedge!"

The two cadets had picked themselves up and made their way back to the ship. Wedge was covering the rear where four stormtroopers had begun firing at them from one of the entrances to the bay. Sabine ducked inside and began powering up the ship, while Wedge stood in the hatch, firing and keeping the rising number of troopers back.

"Jedi! It is over for you." The Inquisitor was back on his feet, but it was clear he was hurt, only slowly making his way back toward them.

Zeb pulled Ezra toward the hatch as Kanan backed slowly toward his friends, carefully staying between them and the Inquisitor. "As long as the Light still shines, it will never be over." He forced the words out through teeth clenched with pain.

"Hypocrite, like all the Jedi!" The Pau'an spat. "You've already taken your first steps into the dark. Even now it burrows into your heart, and your soul, Padawan Dume! It will not be so easy to embrace the Light again." The Inquisitor's eyes glowed an eerie yellow as he continued to approach.

Kanan was about to reply when there was an explosion and a screeching of metal. A badly damaged TIE had entered the bay, reeling out of control. It skidded and skipped across the durasteel floor towards them, causing the Inquisitor to leap back. Kanan fell back as well, taking both Ezra and Zeb with him into the transport. Wedge followed them.

"Sabine!" Zeb yelled as the flaming wreckage skidded near. The remains of the TIE skated right up to where they were, bumping the transport and causing it to slide about ten feet to the left.

"Got it! Wedge, I'm gonna need you on guns!" She lifted off, the motion of the transport pushing the TIE off to the right. Blaster fire was aimed toward the ship, but it just bounced harmlessly off the shields.

Sabine commed Hera while Zeb sank down to the floor where Kanan had fallen. The Jedi's head was propped up against the front row of seats, and Ezra was checking his wounds. Blood streaked his face, and his shirt was soaked; the wounds he'd suffered two days ago were bleeding freely again. His eyes were closed and his breathing was harsh and ragged.

Zeb wasn't doing well either. The burnt flesh wound from the Inquisitor's lightsaber was deep and agonizing.

"There's gotta be a medkit on board. I'll find it," Ezra stood up, clinging to the seats as he worked his way to the back of the transport.

"Gotta say, Kanan…I'm not too fond of your new friends. Better if you stick with us." Zeb groaned as the ship's abrupt maneuvers slung him around. He grabbed onto Kanan and tried to hold him still as the ship took another steep dive. Laser fire flashed around them, he could see it lighting up the blackness visible through the windows.

"Going to hyperspace now." Sabine called. "Hera and Hobbie will be jumping once we're away."

When he looked down, Kanan's eyes, a dark blue in the subdued light, were watching him. "Everyone make it?" The words were a harsh whisper, followed by struggle to keep his eyes open. His breath was hitching with every stab of pain.

Zeb placed a hand on Kanan's shoulder. "Yeah. Everyone's okay, big guy." In response, Kanan nodded, letting his eyes drift closed in the safety of the blue glow that now surrounded the ship. "Just rest. We got you."

* * *

The spot Hera had chosen for the rendezvous was on a desert planet on the other side of the system, a planet called Nelel. A sparsely populated planet, the rock cliffs made a perfect hiding place for the transport and the Ghost. Mineral deposits on the surface made picking up their signature difficult. Twilight was lengthening the shadows between the cliffs as Hera climbed the ladder downstairs to check on Kanan.

It had almost been two days. She hadn't wanted to leave Kanan's side, but Zeb had insisted she go up and have something to eat. The way the Lasat looked after her, and everyone else on the ship, was sweet. The lightsaber wound hadn't slowed him down at all, and he'd been taking care of everyone, so, she'd agreed to go upstairs and eat to appease him. It had been the first time she'd moved from her Jedi's side since they settled him in the previous day.

They were waiting to hear back from Fulcrum about where to meet the operative that would ferry Sabine, Hobbie and Wedge to other cells in the rebellion. She'd thanked Fulcrum for the backup; saying they wouldn't have made it out successfully if not for the Convorees, who had jumped as soon as Hera's group was safely away. Two of their ships had suffered damage, according to Fulcrum's report, but they'd been lucky enough to lose no one.

Kanan had been unconscious ever since they'd brought him onboard at twilight yesterday. After hearing Zeb and Ezra's story, she didn't know what to expect. Apparently, Kanan had been drugged almost unconscious when they found him, but he'd somehow been able to protect Ezra and the others when the female inquisitor, who'd been lying in wait, had attacked. They'd also had a confrontation with the Grand Inquisitor, but had been able to get away with Kanan and Ezra's help. The Force could indeed do some amazing things if Kanan was able to do half of what they said he did, as injured as he was.

The first night, both she and Ezra had stayed with Kanan; Hera hadn't had the heart to send the kid out. During the night, when Kanan had begun to moan and thrash in his sleep, they'd both been startled from what little rest they'd found by his bedside. He'd been unable to wake up, due to all the substances in his system, but with Hera's gentle touch and words, and Ezra's reassurance from the Force, Kanan had calmed back down into a more restful slumber.

The lights in the room were dim and she moved silently, not wanting to disturb either occupant. Ezra was there, seated in a chair pulled near the bed. He'd fallen asleep again and his head was pillowed on the mattress, his hair a dark unruly mop against the white bedding. She'd have to wake him up soon to make sure he ate something.

There was a movement and Hera held back her surprise as Kanan's hand came up and smoothed Ezra's hair. She looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still closed. She watched for a moment, then came around the other side of the bed.

As his eyes opened and looked at her, a tired smile came to his face. "Hi." He whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Hi." She pulled up a low stool as close to the bed as she could. Then she took his free hand in hers, careful of the IV tube she'd inserted earlier. He'd needed fluids to counteract his dehydration, and she'd also given him glucose to get his blood sugar back up. Apparently, the Empire didn't think much about providing basic food and water to prisoners, she thought with a spike of anger that she tucked away before it reached her eyes. "How are you feeling, love?"

"Like… I've been run down by a herd of banthas?" His eyes were blinking slowly as he looked around the room. "How long have I been out?"

"About a day and a half." She adjusted the bed so that he could sit up a little better, then grabbed the handheld scanner and checked his temperature. "Your fever's broken. All the drugs they gave you are probably making their way out of your system by now." She'd tested his blood and found that they'd pumped him up with at least five different substances, some of which her computer couldn't even identify, and one of which was dangerously addictive. She'd done some reading and administered something that would help the sudden withdrawal from the drug, hoping that he hadn't been on it long enough to do any damage.

He nodded and his eyes drifted closed a moment. There was a pounding headache that seemed to come from right behind his eyes, but just being **home** made it bearable. He took that thought and polished it like a bright jewel, holding it close to him. **Home**. The Ghost was his **home**. "Thanks for coming for me." Tears stung his eyes and he closed them swiftly. He felt humbled and unworthy of everything they must have risked to get him back.

She kissed the palm of his hand gently. "We were so afraid we'd lost you. Then Ezra…he used the Force and said you were alive. He had some sort of vision."

"The kid?" he murmured, reaching out to touch Ezra's unruly hair. They'd have to talk—there was so much they needed to discuss Jedi to Padawan, but he couldn't gather his thoughts to think about it right now. It had taken everything to stand up to the Inquisitors, and he was exhausted.

There was a soft sleepy noise from Ezra, whose face was turned towards them. When he opened his electric blue eyes, they both saw it. "Kanan?" He lifted his head quickly, looking to Hera, then back to Kanan in disbelief.

"It's me. Still alive," he murmured, with a half-smile, "thanks to you." He let his hand fall on Ezra's shoulder.

As a response, Ezra leaned in to hug Kanan as fiercely as he could, while carefully avoiding his wounded side. Kanan wrapped his free arm around Ezra, while Hera squeezed his hand gently. In the Force, he could sense a mixture of emotions from the both of them that were hard to identify. His Force abilities were still blunted and he was too weak to push his abilities as he'd done on the destroyer.

"Ezra…" he whispered, feeling the kid's breathing begin to hitch. The teen was crying, silently, and holding on so tightly it was beginning to hurt. Hera let Kanan's hand slip from hers and he brought it up to wrap around the boy in a weak hug, shifting him just a little. "Shhh….Ezra…it's okay. I'm okay, no need to…"

"I. . .I'm…s-s-sorry." Ezra managed to say between breaths, burying his face in Kanan's shoulder. "I just…I was afraid to l-lose you…"

"I know." He spoke into the top of Ezra's mop of black hair. "I know, kid. Let it go into the Force, okay? Just let it go." He rested his cheek on the top of Ezra's head, holding Hera in his steady gaze like he'd never let her go.

* * *

By the third day since their escape from the destroyer, Kanan was back in his quarters, feeling better, but, like Zeb, still healing. As he awoke and began to move, the soreness in his side reminded him to take it easy. He pulled a loose-fitting t-shirt on over the bandages and then pulled on a set of sleep pants. He stepped out of his quarters and saw that he was one of the first awake. Today was the first morning he'd not been in the medbay, and he felt restless.

He gathered a ration bar, a bottle of water and made his way to the open ramp. Apparently, he'd been wrong, thinking he was the first to wake. He caught sight of the purple and orange hair on the figure at the bottom of the ramp and knew it must be Sabine. He walked slowly to the bottom of the ramp and caught her eyes as she looked up. "Mind some company?" he asked, noticing that the sunrise was easy to see from this position.

"No, take a seat," she scooted over to give him even more room.

"Thanks," he sat down next to her with a hiss of pain as he twisted part of his body the wrong way. She reached out quickly, to help steady him, but he waved her off. "I'm okay. Just a bit sore."

"You look like you're feeling better," she said, noticing that he wasn't nearly as pale as he had been when they'd brought him off the transport.

"Yeah? That's good. I'd hate for Hera to drag me back down to the medbay. It was getting a little claustrophobic in there," he answered with a chuckle. He began to eat the bland ration bar slowly; it was some of the first solid food he'd had in a couple of days.

They sat in companionable silence until she spoke, "Hey, I didn't get to thank you before." She murmured, looking sideways to catch his eyes. "You saved my friends, and you helped us all get away. Both times."

He shrugged like it was nothing, a smile playing around the edge of his features. "Anytime, Sabine. As I hear, Ezra's not the only one responsible for the decision to come back and save me. You must be a good slicer to crack open the Empire's computers like you did."

She blushed a little. "Well, I learned a few things at the Academy…"

"Lucky for me you were such a good student." He drank some water, and then looked out at the sunrise turning the sky orange and rose and pink.

"Hey, what made you want to join the rebellion?" She asked him suddenly. "If you don't mind me asking. Was it being a Jedi?"

He became more serious and took another bite of the ration bar, chewing it thoroughly as he contemplated his answer. "I didn't join the rebellion, it kinda picked me. I was just a kid when the Jedi…when everything went bad. I guess I was kinda aimless, wandering around and spending most of my time trying to stay out of the Empire's way." Sabine nodded, understanding. "Then I met Hera, Zeb and Ezra and they changed how I thought about things."

"Yeah. Knowing you guys has kinda changed my outlook too," Sabine said thoughtfully.

Kanan could feel a peculiar sadness coming from Sabine. "You don't want to leave, do you?"

Her eyes shot to him quickly, then back to the ramp where she tugged on one of her bootstraps idly. "It's stupid, but I just feel like this place is home…well, could be home. Hera's been so nice. And Zeb…the guy really appreciates a good explosion…" she grinned, then became serious once again. "And Ezra…and you. What you guys did…what you two can do…it's amazing."

"I know how you feel. I haven't been here too much longer than you and it feels like home to me too." Kanan mused. "But what about your family back on Mandalore? Won't they be looking for you?"

Her face hardened. "No. They won't be. I quit the Academy and I'll be dead to them. I'm a disappointment, and they'll never forgive me."

The anger and pain was now coming stronger from her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I can see you staying with us. I'll talk to Hera."

"No. Don't. What if she says no?"

Kanan had already gotten to his feet. "She won't."

"How do you know?"

Kanan paused for a moment, reaching for the Force. Images of Sabine and Ezra came to him. He could see them in the middle of a battle, a lightsaber in Ezra's hand and Sabine's twin Westars. There was Sabine and Ezra holding lightsaber swords and moving them from position to position in tandem. He saw Sabine flying the Phantom and Ezra standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. He didn't understand the context around any of them, especially the one where Sabine had a lightsaber, but those images clearly pointed to Sabine being with them. His eyes found Sabine's deep brown ones.

"I just know. Let me talk to Hera."

She tried to protest, but he was gone before she could get up and stop him.

* * *

That afternoon, Ezra found Sabine sitting at the Dejarik table. Wedge and Hobbie were downstairs, letting Hera take a last look at their injuries before they met up with the rebel operative.

Sabine was sitting at the table, doodling on a piece of flimsi. He peered at her picture, a pretty accurate sketch of the _Ghost_ , surrounded by the landscape outside.

"Wow, that's really good," he said.

She glanced up at him from where she had her chin pillowed on a hand. "Thanks. I draw a little." She frowned at her sketch and tapped the stylus twice in succession, which erased the picture. "I had to leave almost all my sketchbooks when we took off. The one I brought with me got lost when we were captured. Drawing on flimsi is not the same, but it's something, I guess." She began to draw again, looking up at him from time to time.

"I can't draw." Ezra said, shrugging. "But I'm really good at street monte."

"What's that?" she raised an eyebrow.

Ezra ducked in the kitchen a moment, then came back with three cups and a small credit chit. He put the credit under one of the cups and began moving them around on the table. "Keep your eye on the credit," he said as he kept moving them around. Sabine had never lost track of the cup, so she knew where the credit was when he stopped. "So, where is it?" he asked.

"There." She tapped the top of the cup.

He lifted the cup and there was no chit.

"What!?" Sabine sat straight up with a surprised look on her face as Ezra lifted the last cup and showed her where it was. "Do that again," she said, a determined look on her face.

"Yes, ma'am." Ezra began a street patter as he moved the cups from place to place, showing her the chit from time to time. "All you gotta do is keep your eye on the chit, Sabine. It's a game so simple a child could win." She watched him like a convor while he moved the cups back and forth. "There," she said, tapping a cup when he stopped.

He lifted it and there was no chit.

She screamed with frustration and admiration as he showed her where it was. "Ok. One more time."

He fooled her one more time, then stacked the three cups, handing her the chit and taking a seat. "Keep it. You earned it."

She leaned forward. "You've gotta tell me how you did that! Wait…you didn't use any Jedi abilities on me did you?"

"No and no." He said with a cheeky grin, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" She shook her head in wonder at him, then returned to her sketch.

"When I lived on the streets in Lothal. It was really helpful when I got in a bad spot and needed some quick cash. I could usually get in a few games before the troopers came to move me along. It kept me from starving a couple of times."

"Oh." Her eyes softened, but she said nothing else, simply looked down at her drawing and made a few changes.

"Um…Kanan asked me if I'd talk to you. You got a minute?" Ezra almost smacked himself on the forehead. _Stupid idiot_ … _of course she does,_ Ezra thought with a blush _._ _What had they been doing for the past ten minutes?_ _What else is there to do on this rock but talk?_

She looked up at him quickly, as if startled. "Look. You don't have to say it. It's okay. I'm sure whatever this 'Fulcrum' has for me is gonna work just fine. You guys really don't have to worry—I'm not going to crowd in on you." Her words were quick but casual-sounding.

"Wait." Ezra shook his head, confused and still thinking about how dumb he'd sounded. He tried to stop blushing. "No….uh…That's not it."

"C'mon. You don't have to make up a reason..." She said in a conspiratorial tone. "I get it. You guys have a team here. I understand that sort of thing. No need to let me down easy." She leaned in, gave him a kiss on the cheek, then slipped from the booth to head back into the quarters she'd stayed in since coming on the Ghost. All of it happened before Ezra could recover himself.

Ezra shook his head. "Wha-? Huh?" He glanced down, seeing a perfect sketch of himself on the flimsi she'd left behind. "No…" He stood up and went to the room she'd vanished to.

She hadn't locked the door, so it swished open when he came to it. She was standing at the bed, head down and back to him as she fumbled with her WESTAR holsters. He wasn't trying to pry, but he sensed she was fighting back tears.

"Sabine. We want you to stay. Be a part of the team." Ezra said. "All of us want you to stay. We need you."

She turned and looked up uncertainly.

"C'mon. Say you're going to stay. We need you to…uh…blow things up. I can't think of how many times I've turned to Zeb and said, 'I wish we had an explosives expert right now.'"

She laughed in spite of herself.

"Seriously, we need your skills if we're gonna keep fighting the Empire. Even Chopper said you should stay. And he hates everybody."

"Chopper wanted me to stay on as part of the crew? Really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, no. I lied about that part. But don't take it personally. He only likes Hera."

She bit her lip, thinking a moment, then she nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go tell Zeb and Kanan. They're waiting in the cockpit."

* * *

Wedge and Hobbie said they'd miss her, but they understood. She was a great pilot, but had too many other skills to be stuck piloting. At the academy they'd had her doing some advanced weapons designing, and she'd taken every close quarters combat class the Empire offered. Sabine blushed under the compliments from her fellow students and over dinner, she could not stop smiling.

By afternoon of the next day, the crew met up with one of Fulcrum's operatives on the planet Oon.

The XS stock light freighter looked fairly unremarkable, in order to draw less attention, according to the Theelin that flew her. After greeting Hera, she waited patiently, while Wedge and Hobbie said their goodbyes.

"Thank you for helping us." Hera said to each of them, taking their hands in her own.

"We owe you for rescuing us." Hobbie said, leaning in to give her a hug when she released his hand. "I enjoyed flying for you, Captain."

"I'm sure the rebellion will be lucky to have the both of you." Kanan said.

"Careful out there." Ezra added, shaking their hands as well.

"Sabine." Wedge and Hobbie made their way to Sabine last. "Well, we did it," Wedge smiled, while putting an arm around her in a hug, "thanks to you." Hobbie gave her a hug as well.

"We'll see each other again." Sabine said, with certainty. "We're fighting in the same rebellion, after all."

"Yeah, I guess that's the way to look at it." Hobbie answered.

"Take care of her." Wedge said as they turned one last time to face Kanan and the rest of the Spectres.

"You bet." Zeb answered, as they made their way to the light freighter. They watched until it lifted off, then Ezra turned to Hera. "Where are **we** headed next?"

"I thought we might go to Dennogra and run down a couple of leads that I have. Get a few milk runs under our belt. We could use some downtime." She glanced to her crew, thinking about each of them in turn. Zeb wasn't fully healed, and neither was Kanan. She could tell by the circles under his eyes that he was still having trouble sleeping. Something was eating at him but he wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Sabine needed some time to find her place among them, and Hera, herself, worried about Ezra. He hadn't broken down since that first day that Kanan had woken up, but she knew he'd faced his worst fear twice and that didn't come without some kind of fallout.

"I think all of that's a great idea." Zeb said. "Think we'll make it to Dennogra by dinnertime?"

"Probably not." Hera said as they made their way back to the Ghost. "Guess it's your turn to cook."

Zeb groaned, and Sabine laughed. "I'll cook, you cleanup." She glanced to Hera and Kanan, "At least that way, we'll all survive."

Zeb grabbed her in a headlock and ruffled her short hair. She squawked loudly and struggled in his gentle grasp. "See, this was the best idea you ever had, Hera. I knew I liked her for some reason." He let her go and she swiped at him.

"I'm gonna get you for that," Sabine chased him toward the Ghost, followed by Ezra. The sound of their laughter floated back to Hera and Kanan, who took their time getting back to the ship.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

True to Hera's word, their next job was an easy one. They had gotten a job hauling bantha feed to Anobis. The shipment was to be delivered to them that afternoon at the spaceport on Dennogra, so Hera, Zeb and Sabine had left early that morning on a shopping trip to resupply the ship before they left.

Kanan decided to take advantage of the quiet. After checking with Ezra, he sat meditating, deeply emmeshed with the Force. The initial level of meditation was easy to reach, but he needed to go deeper, to try to undo the damage of the Inquisitors and the dark side, or at least find a path through the darkness that threatened to take over his mind. He could feel the corruption like an infection under the skin, becoming worse and worse over the days that he'd tried to ignore it. He'd not wanted to think about it, hoping the sticky feeling of _wrongness_ would go away on its own, but it hadn't.

His first instinct had been to indulge in the usual brand of tried and true self-loathing. If he'd been stronger, he could have withstood anything the Inquisitors put him through or subjected him to. How had he slipped to the dark side so easily?

Maybe he deserved this. Maybe he wasn't the teacher Ezra needed. Maybe the best he'd ever be was a drunken brawler with illusions of grandeur. Thinking he could be a Jedi again would only lead to worse for not only Ezra, but Hera and the rest of the team. Those kinds of thoughts led him in a bad direction, and he found inside of him a fierce desire to get blind drunk, but he ignored the compulsion like he'd been doing since they'd arrived in the spaceport. Drinking was not going to fix or help this situation.

But the nightmares weren't helping his resolve either. Every night since he'd returned, he'd had increasingly horrible dreams. Over and over, he'd been reliving his confrontations with the Inquisitors. The worst one was about the Mirialan. He'd been back in the interrogation room, holding her against the wall with his hands squeezing her throat. He'd felt every gasping, struggling breath she'd taken and still he squeezed harder. Ezra had tried to get him to stop, but he looked down at his Padawan and simply used the Force to throw him back several feet. Then he returned to throttling the Seventh Sister, seeing her through a haze of bloodlust and hate. And then the Pau'an's voice at his ear…

 **Take hold of the power. Finish her.**

But it wasn't the Pau'an was it? Kanan's brow furrowed. It was that other voice. The sliver of the dark side he had allowed to invade his consciousness. It worked into him like a splinter of ice, moving deeper and deeper toward his center. Abruptly, he became acutely aware of a coldness and a shudder through his body so severe he was jolted out of meditation. He opened his eyes, expecting to see the Pau'an's face and the twisted triumph in his eyes, but he was alone.

He wiped beads of sweat from his face, then rubbed his damp palms against his pants. He could feel his hands shaking.

"Meditation and reflection." He muttered to himself. _Keep your focus._

The first time after he'd had the dream, he had awoken in a sweat then too. In the middle of the night, he had gone searching through the holocron's data files, wondering if the nightmare meant he'd already _fallen_ as a Jedi. All the Jedi he'd known had been very tight-lipped on that subject, teaching that any taint of the dark side spelled an irreversible doom. If that were true, maybe it was already too late for him. With a heavy heart, he'd searched late into the night for some sort of hope.

Then he'd found something. According to Jedi Master Shim, a Jedi who had lived over 3,000 years ago, if one had not fallen too far, there could be redemption. She had written a treatise on the subject of Jedi falling to the dark side—it had become the standard by which Masters identified the signs of corruption by the dark side. It said a fall to the dark side happened in stages: the first of which was temptation. He realized, with a clenching heart, that he had passed this stage by using the dark side against the Inquisitor. Then he had been tempted to save Ezra and the others from the Mirialan by using the dark side, and that was his second mistake. He'd been blinded by the idea of doing what he'd thought to be right, by any means necessary. Like it or not, he had to admit that he had let his attachments make him selfish, just as Jedi teachings had warned against. However, it seemed as if the Force had urged him toward those attachments by placing Hera, Ezra and Zeb into his path. When he faced the Mirialan and delved deeply into the dark side, his attachment to Ezra had been the only thing to return him to the light. It seemed as if his Jedi teachings were telling him one thing and the Force another. And he wasn't quite sure how to reconcile the two.

He felt pulled in all directions.

Kanan took a deep breath and tried to let all his fears and insecurities vanish into the Force. Settling back into meditation, he recited a mantra. "The Force is with me, and I am one with the Force; and I fear nothing, because all is as the Force wills it." He repeated the whispered words and began to follow the thread of thought back into the text of Master Shim.

She had written that Jedi who stepped off the path of the light sometimes became aware of their poor decisions and tried to find their way back. Some were even able to find redemption by reflecting on their mistakes. Was that what was happening with him now? He desperately hoped so. He would stay focused on understanding the path the Force had set for him, so that he didn't stray again.

Deep meditation had never been his strong point in his past as a Padawan, but he'd been young and impatient back then. Now he brought a different depth of experience to the task. And he had to be the teacher that Ezra deserved; he could not afford to fall to the dark side. The Force had set the boy in his path and he had been shown what would happen if he were to fail.

Yet, deep within, doubts whispered. The Force was with him, but it gave him no answers to his questions. It simply brought him into its warmth and soothed his turbulent emotions. As Kanan slipped deeper and deeper under the waters of the Force, he wasn't aware of it, when things around him began to slowly levitate a few inches off of the floor.

* * *

Ezra was at the Dejarik table, when a bright light caught his eye. He looked toward it, in the direction of Kanan's quarters, but there was nothing there. He rubbed his eyes, then returned to his work on his blaster. He was working too hard, he was sure, but all morning he'd been fixated on finishing his work. He was sure an essential component was missing, however. Looking over to his box of parts, he caught another, almost impossibly bright flash, like sunlight off of a diamond and his head darted up.

He focused his eyes and it was gone. He sighed, frustrated, and looked back down at his work. He needed some sort of focusing thing…like the way a diamond focused light. Then…then what? He saw a beam of light in his mind. Like Kanan's lightsaber. A lightsaber? His eyes widened. That's what this was going to be? Not just a blaster, but a lightsaber too?

He felt a rush of excitement at seeing the bigger picture. Okay, a lightsaber. What did they look like on the inside? What powered the mechanism? Suddenly he felt a burning need to see Kanan's lightsaber—how it was assembled and put together. Then he'd know what kind of crystal he was looking for. He got up and headed in the direction of Kanan's room.

Too excited to wait, he rapped gently twice and, hearing nothing, opened the door. He was surprised by what he saw. Kanan sat, cross-legged on the floor, everything around him hovering.

"Karabast," the boy whispered, wonderingly, as his eyes adjusted to the slightly luminous appearance of the air. He tapped into the Force, just to get a look at what was going on, so he could see in the widest possible way, and saw light, just like when Kanan had passed out in the hallway and the light of the Force had been too bright to look at. The light was both colorless and full of color at the same time, it was hot without burning, it was goodness made real. He couldn't move, but felt like he was floating along with everything else.

Then suddenly, Ezra felt a wave of peace from the Force overcome him. It didn't so much as speak, as commune with him wordlessly. Then the Force began to fade, until it was just a slight glow around Kanan's seated form. As the excess amount of Force energy dissipated, everything floating settled gently back down to the ground.

Kanan sat completely still, his lips making the shapes of words, but no noise reached Ezra's ear. After some time, Kanan had sufficiently risen back to consciousness and his blue-green eyes opened. "Ezra?" he asked softly. The boy was obviously shaken by something. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, but what **was** that?" Ezra asked, eyes wide.

"Meditation?" Kanan answered, raising an eyebrow, looking around.

"No, things don't float when we meditate." Ezra said wonderingly, looking around the room as if he expected to see some sort of evidence he could use to show Kanan. He and Kanan meditated every morning, but he'd never seen anything happen like that before. "Everything in the room was floating!" Ezra looked like he just remembered something. "Oh…wait…Hera did say that when I used your box thing that stuff was flying around the ship."

"What are you talking about?"

Ezra proceeded to tell Kanan the story of the holocron message and the vision with Master Billaba.

"She told me you were still alive. On the destroyer. She said you were in danger because you were cut off from the Force, but that you were not lost to us." Something in Kanan's face made the boy stop talking. "Did I say something wrong?"

Kanan shook his head. "No. You said something I needed to hear." _Not lost._ It felt like a message even now, the way it echoed what he'd learned from his research.

"Well, when I came back to…reality…things were levitating, like now. I didn't even know that would happen."

"Sometimes meditation can cause such a thing. I was connecting with the Force at a deeper level to . . . answer some questions I had. I guess that's what you saw."

"Your questions…were they about the Inquisitors?" Ezra shifted his eyes away and he looked at Kanan out of the corner of his eye.

Kanan got to his feet and approached Ezra. "Yeah. They were." He placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder.

"You haven't really talked about…about what happened." Ezra said, now growing serious.

"C'mon. There **are** some things we need to talk about, Master to Padawan. Everyone's gone, so this is the perfect time."

Ezra followed Kanan to the common room. They both took a seat in the booth, where Ezra's work was spread out before them.

Kanan looked down at the lightsaber in construction and ran his hand over it. The kid was coming along and he could see that the Force had led him in the right direction.

"Things have been moving so fast that we've barely had time to discuss your becoming my student. Are you still sure you want to become a Jedi?"

Ezra nodded. "Yes. Of course."

Kanan held up a hand. "Before you make up your mind, there's a few things we need to talk about. When I was on the destroyer, I did some things that Jedi are never supposed to do. You saw what happened when the Mirialan attacked you…"

Ezra shook his head. "Yeah, but…but you saved-"

The boy was interrupted by Kanan shaking his head. "I would have used the dark side to kill her in order to save you and everyone else, and that would have been wrong. A Jedi should never act out of anger or from selfishness, and the dark side should never be used, no matter how noble the cause. I made a mistake on both accounts."

"But you didn't kill her." Ezra pointed out.

"Because you stopped me. You learned the lesson I tried to teach you when we faced the Grand Inquisitor the first time. You learned what I failed to remember." He laid his hand on Ezra's shoulder. "You called me back from a really dark place, Ezra. You saved me."

"Why…why are you telling me this?" Ezra knew this had to be painful to admit. Ever since Kanan had come back, they'd kind of all danced around the truth of what had happened on the destroyer. Ezra hadn't wanted to mention it, hadn't really cared about it but just to make sure Kanan was okay. He didn't blame Kanan in the least for losing it with the Inquisitor. He was just so glad to have his mentor back. Who wouldn't go a little crazy when they were tortured by the Pau'an and his new friend, the creepy Seventh Sister? Just remembering how she'd gotten into his **head** and made him kneel…the way she'd ran her thumb over his cheek made him shudder with loathing and feel like he needed a shower to scrub away the filth.

He remembered how he'd been when Hera and Zeb had rescued him from the Pau'an; he'd been sure it was some sort of test by the Inquisitor at first. For a long time, he'd refused to even speak to his rescuers. How could he trust anyone ever again? He'd spent most of the time on the _Ghost_ hidden in his room, shivering with fear like the grasses on Lothal during a windstorm, until Zeb's steadying presence and Hera's warmth had brought him out of his self-constructed prison.

So he knew how Kanan felt. Over the past few days, he'd sensed Kanan's anxiety over what had happened with the Inquisitors building like storm clouds.

"I'm telling you because I want you to know my shortcomings. And because you deserve better than me. I want you to go into this with both eyes open. I'm not…the best choice of teacher, I know…"

Ezra threw himself at Kanan and hugged him, just like he'd done when the Jedi had awoken on the _Ghost_. "I don't want anyone else. I've already learned so much from you, and I trust you."

Kanan seemed to weigh Ezra's response for a long moment, then spoke. "Okay, Ezra. Okay." He returned the embrace. "I promise, Padawan, that I will do everything I can to be worthy of your trust. I give you my word," he spoke into the top of Ezra's hair. They remained that way for long moments, Kanan thinking that he didn't deserve the kid's trust but determined to be worthy of it.

When they sat back, both a little shook up by the tidal wave of emotion, Kanan picked up Ezra's lightsaber/blaster and hefted it in his hand experimentally. The weapon had good balance and was strangely _right_. "So, have you figured this out yet?"

"Oh…uh…It's a lightsaber. And a blaster." Ezra said. "I was coming to ask you if I could see your lightsaber, so I could figure out which parts are missing…"

"Be right back," Kanan nodded and slid out of the booth to go get it. He placed it on the table between them and before Ezra reached for it, Kanan had levitated it into the air. He moved his hand and the lightsaber came apart into its pieces. Slowly he went over the operative parts with Ezra. "There's some room in how you want to put together the other components . Not every lightsaber has every part, but one thing they all have is this." He reached out and plucked his blue kyber crystal from the air, and showed it to Ezra. It glowed between his fingers, warming his hand. "A kyber crystal is a living crystal, attuned to the Force. The crystal is meant for one Force-user and one Force-user only."

He held out the crystal to Ezra, who took it gingerly. Its glow faded, but Ezra could still hear the soft song of the crystal. "They sing…" he said with wonder.

"For some." He paused, then continued. "When I was a youngling, many Padawans would travel to Ilum to harvest their crystal from the ice caves."

"Is that where you got yours?" Ezra asked, peering intently at the light blue crystal sparkling in his palm. He tried to imagine it embedded in the ice, singing in the darkness to guide Kanan to its location.

"No. My master took me to a Jedi temple on a different planet where the crystals grow. We were on our way to Kardoa to fight, and did not have the time to divert to Ilum. Now, Ilum is under the Empire's control, and it has suffered a great deal of destruction." Kanan looked sad for a moment as he watched the crystal flash and shine in Ezra's palm.

"I wish I could have seen it." Ezra murmured, holding out his hand so that Kanan could retrieve his crystal. He felt a brush of sadness from Kanan's mind that was quickly shut away when Ezra looked at him sympathetically.

"It was amazing, but now, it is time for you to find your own crystal, so you can complete your lightsaber." Kanan said as he reassembled his lightsaber and it settled gently into his hand.

"Really? Where?" Ezra was practically bursting with excitement.

"The Jedi had temples all over the galaxy. We simply need to find one, preferably one that hasn't been discovered by the Empire."

"I bet that's going to be impossible." Ezra looked disappointed at the thought. Surely the Empire had all the Jedi temples staked out, just in case Jedi decided to return there at some point.

"Think positively, Padawan." Kanan stood. "Follow me, I've got something to show you."

* * *

"So, what's the plan after Anobis?" Zeb asked, pushing the stacked crate of supplies back toward the spaceport.

"I thought we might scout around and see if there are any jobs there. If not, maybe we'll find a nice place to hole up for a few days." Hera replied. "I like Garel, but I think it's gonna be a little too hot there for a while. And Lothal is definitely out…" Hera trailed off.

"Hera," Sabine spoke up. "I've been meaning to ask you for a favor…"

"Sure. What do you need?" She gave the girl a smile, plucked out of her thoughts.

"Anobis is near Ylix. Could we make a quick detour? I…uh…I left something there…something important…right before we…uh…were caught. I have a locker in the spaceport." She looked from Hera to Zeb, nervously as she waited for their answer. "It won't take me long."

"I don't think that will be a problem at all. It's not very far off of our route at all."

"Thank you!" Sabine sounded strangely relieved. Hera started to ask what they would be picking up, but decided not to pry. The girl had only been with them a few days and they were just getting to know each other. Trust between adults and teenagers was built slowly, and Force knew, she'd had her practice with Ezra. It was probably some sort of personal item or memento that the girl wanted to retrieve. Hera didn't know what Imperial recruits were allowed to take to training with them, but she assumed it wasn't much; therefore, any personal items of Sabine's would be important to her.

And Sabine didn't have much in the way of personal items. Sabine hadn't come with anything but the clothes she had on, some mixed Imperial armor, black like the uniforms that pilots wore, and her blasters. In fact, one of the reasons for their shopping trip today was to get Sabine clothing, and anything else she might need, as a loan against her share of their first run together. Hera had loaned her clothes and whatever else she'd needed, for the few days she'd been on ship so far. But for Sabine to feel at home, she had to have her own things. The last thing Hera had found, and been surprised to find in the back of this little dusty shop, was a sketchbook and artist-quality styluses for Sabine. Ezra had told her about Sabine's artwork, and she'd put them up with their other purchases without saying a word. Sabine had looked at them, looked at Hera, then looked away when she saw her hungry gaze had been noticed.

"Consider it a thank you for bringing everyone home ok." Hera had said simply as they left the store.

"I…I don't know what to say." Sabine was obviously flustered.

"No need to say anything." Hera briefly laid her hand on Sabine's shoulder, then placed their purchases into their suspensor crate. "You're part of my crew now, and the way I see it, a crew is a family, Sabine."

She didn't reply with words, but Hera could tell that her message was received by the look on Sabine's face. They made their way to the center of town, pushing the crate in front of them, and met up with Zeb. By lunchtime, they had reached the Ghost. While Sabine and Zeb put the supplies away, Hera went to find Ezra and Kanan.

A blue light was spilling out of Kanan's open door and when Hera stuck her head in, she saw a star map hologram spread out across the room. The holocron's pieces turned lazily in the air while Ezra and Kanan seemed to search for something.

Ezra was standing with his back to Hera, scanning over the map with his hand out in front of him and eyes closed. Kanan sat and watched over him. He caught Hera's eye and made a slight motion for her to come in. She entered in as quietly as possible, walking to crouch near Kanan.

She had to admit, she was glad to see the two of them working together on Jedi training, if that was indeed what this was. Losing Kanan, Ezra's reaction to it, and the unlikely rescue had shown her that the two of them needed each other. As much as she might want to, she could not help Ezra with Force related things, and there was a certain bond that had developed between the two Force-sensitives. Already Hera could see Ezra's confidence in himself and his abilities increasing.

"What's he doing?" she whispered.

"He's looking for a Jedi temple where he can get the crystal for his lightsaber." Kanan said.

"He has a lightsaber?" Hera asked with surprise, raising an eyebrow.

Kanan's reply was a smile and a look of pride. "Yeah, he's built his own…"

"Here." Ezra's hand stopped moving and he opened his blue eyes. His fingertips pointed at a small blue-green planet, on the other side of the Outer Rim. "It feels different than the rest."

Kanan looked at the display of stars in front of them and zoomed in on the planet Ezra had indicated. "Nara Prime." A readout appeared beside the planet. "According to Jedi records, there **was** a small Jedi temple on the planet."

"Nara?" Hera said thoughtfully. "It's all the way on the edge of the Rim."

"And hopefully it's not been found by the Empire." Kanan said.

"We can swing it. We get paid on Anobis, make a stop on Ylix for Sabine, and then we can head that way." Hera glanced to Ezra, who smiled broadly.

"I'm ready to go as soon as we can." Ezra said, meeting her eyes through the blue gleam of the planets and stars between them.

"Hold up, Padawan. You've got a lot to do to get ready before we get there." Kanan said to Ezra. "You will be tested before you are allowed to gain your kyber crystal."

"You'll test me?" Ezra asked, his eyes widening.

"Not me. The Force will test you. You will have to face and overcome your greatest fears, just as every other Padawan has done." Kanan held out his hand and the holocron reassembled itself and floated to rest in his palm. "Practice meditating and centering yourself in the Force. More may depend on that than you would think. We'll talk later."

Ezra nodded. "Okay. I won't disappoint you." He left the room and they could hear him talk to Zeb and Sabine briefly before heading back to the room he shared with the Lasat.

"How hard is this test?" Hera asked, taking a seat on Kanan's bed.

"It's different for everyone. Most likely it will be the hardest thing he's ever done. If he fails he might not become a Jedi at all." Kanan looked down at the shining metal and glass box in his palm.

"He can't try again if he fails?"

"If he fails, there won't be a second time. It's possible that neither of us will make it out of the temple if he can't get control of his fears."

Hera smiled at first, thinking he was joking. "Wait a minute. You're serious."

He met her eyes. "Master Billaba always told me that the Master puts their life in the hands of the Padawan who enters the temple. Jedi temples are strange places. There, the Force runs strong and deep, and you can never tell exactly what will happen. If he is to become a Jedi, he has to be fully committed. His life will depend on his training and his training depends on that commitment. The path is not easy, but the way he faced down the Seventh Sister was a good start."

"Kanan, I'm not sure I like this at all…" Hera began.

He stood up, laying the holocron on the bed as he faced her. "We are on the path the Force has set before us. The Force runs strongly in Ezra. He has to face this test."

She struggled with her thoughts. Letting Ezra go into a situation where he might face death again...letting them both go in…didn't feel good at all. And Kanan was just so calm about this. "I don't want to lose either of you," she whispered.

Kanan sat beside her on the bed. He hadn't wanted to have this conversation with her; he'd wanted to protect her from the truth of what had happened with the Inquisitors. How much should he tell her? "Hera. Ezra's not the only one who needs something from the temple." He hesitated a moment and when she looked up, he continued haltingly. "The Grand Inquisitor was trying to turn me to the dark side of the Force, Hera, just like he wanted to do with Ezra."

She searched his face frantically. "But he didn't succeed."

"I let him succeed in part," he said softly, his features twisting in self-hatred. "I...I chose to use the dark side to save Ezra and the rest of the team. I let myself be tempted."

"But you did save them…" her voice was strained. He had saved them, by any means possible, and kriff the Force, if that's what it took to get her family back to her, she didn't care. "You did what you had to do…"

"But it was wrong." His voice was heavy with sorrow, but he forced himself to meet her eyes. "This wrongness, I can't seem to get it off of me." He rubbed his hands on his pants, as if trying to rid himself of the contaminated feeling. "I thought it would get better as time went on, but it's not. Like I said, Jedi temples are located at vergences, places where the Force runs more strongly. I can connect with it better there. Maybe I can find out how to get rid of this…hold that the dark side has on me."

"Oh, love." She leaned into him, wrapping her arm around him. He felt cold to her, but she felt better when he returned the gesture. She realized that Kanan and Ezra had to do this, but she didn't have to like it. She started to say so when Kanan spoke again.

"I want to think things will be alright. The Force pulled me toward all of you for a reason. I have to believe that. Maybe this is my own test, I'm not sure." Kanan said. "But I know we have to go, Hera."

She took a shaky breath. "Okay." She leaned her head on his shoulder as they sat side by side. "Okay, love. You know, I'll support you no matter what." She silently promised herself that if they didn't come out, she'd go in after them. They were her family and giving them up was not an option…would never be an option, Force or not.

* * *

A/N: Comments are loved and missed when they don't come! :( If you don't give me a comment, give some other writer a comment today for all their hard work. :)

Next up: We get a glimpse into Caleb getting his kyber crystal, and Sabine retrieves something very special to her. Then, Kanan and Ezra prepare for the Jedi Temple. If you have any suggestions, I can't promise anything, but I'm willing to listen…Let me hear from you!


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"So, how do you guys hide from the Empire so successfully?" Sabine asked Ezra as they stood near the back of the cockpit watching Hera guide the _Ghost_ into the space lanes leading into Ylix's largest spaceport. The complex before them was huge and dotted with tiny lights; it was not yet day. If the coast seemed clear, the plan was to stay the day, and leave under cover of darkness.

Ezra whispered back to Sabine. "Hera has a contact that provides us with false signatures on a rotating basis. There's still lots of VCX-100's out there, so we just sort of blend right in, depending on which signature we're using."

"There may be some VCX-100's out there, but there's only one _Ghost_." Hera interrupted. "It's got 87 illegal upgrades to the stealth system, last time Chopper counted."

Chopper replied proudly that they had 91 upgrades now. "91, huh? Sometimes Chopper just does things that he's **supposed** to ask permission for." Chopper grumbled in response and Hera shook her head. "Just keep me informed, Chopper. That's all I ask."

Once they landed, she swiveled her chair to regard Ezra and Sabine. "Stay in touch over the comms in case there's any problem."

They both nodded, and already geared up for their mission to retrieve Sabine's belongings, they were on their way quickly.

After they left, Kanan and Zeb were working on connecting the _Ghost_ to the hookups in the spaceport. The Lasat was on the hull, and Kanan was working down below. All of a sudden, Zeb heard a clattering sound that drew his attention. He looked down and saw that Kanan had fumbled the Harris wrench. That, in itself, wasn't particularly unusual, but Kanan was just standing there, looking down at it and not moving.

"Kanan?" Zeb slid down the ship's ladder. As he walked over, the Jedi cocked his head to the side, as if listening for something. "Kanan?"

"Hey…" When Zeb grabbed his shoulder Kanan looked up.

"Something's wrong," the Jedi said. He could feel it thrumming in the Force, leading him the way that Ezra and Sabine had gone. "They're going to run into trouble." He turned and went up the ramp, followed by Zeb. They found Hera in the upper hallway.

"What is it?" she asked, immediately alarmed by their haste and the look on Kanan's face as he climbed to the top.

"Something's going to happen. I can feel it in the Force. I'm not sure, but I think the kids are going to need some help." Kanan ducked into his room and grabbed his coat and lightsaber. He clipped it to his belt under the coat and pulled up the hood of his coat, obscuring his face. Then he checked his blaster.

As he exited, Hera thrust an earpiece at him. "Be careful. Stay in touch."

"I should go too," Zeb said.

"Not yet," Kanan said as he fixed the earpiece, "Let me see what the problem is first. You might draw more attention than we need right now." He put a hand on Zeb's shoulder, then turned and slid back down the ladder into the cargo hold. "I'll call immediately if it's more than we can handle."

"You bet." Zeb said, watching him go unhappily.

* * *

Kanan wasn't exactly sure which way the lockers Sabine had spoken of were, but he could sense Ezra's Force signature, so he followed it, keeping in the shadows. If trouble did show up, he wanted to be close enough to help out. If it was something the kid could handle, then he would just stay in the background and keep a watchful eye on them.

All of a sudden, there was a quick throb of worry from Ezra. It beat against him as he scanned the crowd. The worry didn't last long before he felt Ezra's emotions even back out. Maybe they had just gotten separated in the crowd of spacers walking the concourse, or seen some troopers.

Even though Ezra had relaxed, Kanan still felt a prickle of unease at the back of his neck. Ezra's Force signature was easy to find, though, so he hung back, moving in the same direction, but never getting close enough to be detected.

* * *

Ezra ducked past two Rodians and a Wookie to rejoin Sabine. They'd gotten separated in the press of beings and it had taken him a minute to find her in the crowd again. Ezra grabbed her hand and she clenched her fist to whack her would-be attacker before realizing it was Ezra. "Sorry…I had to work my way back." Ezra apologized. For a moment, she glanced down at Ezra's hand tightened around her own and then met his eyes. He had been worried about getting back to her so he could watch her back. Needless as it was, it was still sweet.

He started to let her hand go when she stared at it, but she tightened her grip. "It's ok," she replied softly. "Let's go this way."

They made their way to the side of the open area and then worked their way toward the lockers. She quickly wove in between several rows until she found the right one. Ezra stood behind her, keeping watch while she entered the code.

She opened the locker and yanked on a black duffel bag, pulling it out. "It's here." She knelt on the floor and unzipped it to let Ezra glance inside.

"Armor? Oh…Mandalorian armor!" He caught sight of the distinctive helmet and took it in appreciatively. The armor was painted in green and yellow, and he realized why she'd not worn it openly—it could be identified. She rezipped the bag and threw it over her shoulder. "I made this armor with my family back on Mandalore. There's no way I could leave it here."

Ezra's face became serious as he met her gaze. "Do they know you're okay?" he murmured.

There was a long pause, then she shook her head, her face hardening. "They don't care, Ezra. I'm dead to them because I left the Academy. I can't ever go home." She shifted uncomfortably; the shadows within her hood weren't dark enough to hide the pain on her face. "Um…what about your family?" she asked, trying to hide the hitch in her voice as she attempted to shift the attention from herself.

Now it was Ezra's turn for his gaze to dart away while he composed his thoughts. "They…died when I was seven. They stood up against the Empire, and it got them murdered."

"What did you do?" she murmured.

"I... lived on the streets mostly," he said simply.

There was a long moment of silence as Sabine stood looking at him, seeing him though different eyes. "You don't have to feel sorry for me," Ezra said. Now it was his turn to shift uncomfortably, thinking he saw pity in her eyes. But he soon realized he was wrong.

"I would never feel sorry for you, Ezra Bridger," she said. Quickly, she leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips before she could change her mind. The stunned expression on his face made her grin mischievously.

"C'mon. Let's get back. We probably shouldn't spend too much time out here," she hefted the bag over her shoulder. He was still staring at her with those shocked blue eyes of his, so she punched him on the shoulder. "Come on." She grabbed his hand, which finally got him moving, and they exited the locker area back toward the _Ghost_.

Sabine stiffened when they heard the static crackle from a stormtrooper helmet behind them. They froze for a second, then Sabine hissed "Go!" They ran around the corner, right into two more troopers.

* * *

Kanan felt the problem before he saw it. A loud beacon of panic came to him from Ezra through the Force and he knew that they were in trouble. He increased his pace, tapping the earpiece to contact the _Ghost_.

"Captain," he purposely didn't use her name in case their transmission was being monitored. "I think we're having that problem we discussed."

"What do you need?" He heard her voice, just as carefully, come back over the frequency.

"Nothing yet. I'm going to check it out, but be ready in case we have to burn sky till we see lines."

"Copy that. Careful out there."

Kanan caught sight of the two teenagers in the midst of three troopers. He could see that Ezra's face had gone pale under his dark hair and that Sabine's hood had been yanked down to reveal her brightly colored head of hair. Maybe they'd been made, maybe not. He came closer to them, listening to what the troopers were saying.

"You both resemble persons wanted by the Empire. Just show us your identification, and we can let you be on your way, citizens."

"Um…I don't have it with me." Ezra patted his clothes as if looking for his ID. "I can give you my name…It's Dev. Dev Morgan."

"Something's not right about this. Take them into custody." The tall trooper said. "Hold out your hands."

Kanan came closer, approaching the troopers from the side. He hoped this wouldn't end up in a fight. The last thing they needed was for the whole station to come down on them. "Excuse me…" he began. The closest trooper turned his weapon on Kanan.

"Back up," he warned.

Reaching out with the Force for the trooper's mind, Kanan's own concentration narrowed to a sharp focus. "You don't need to see their identification." He acted like he was reaching up to take off his hood, but he made a slight motion with his hand instead.

There was a moment where the whole encounter stood on a knife edge. Kanan pushed, and pushed **hard**. He could feel the trooper's mind wobble then comply. "We…we don't need to see their identification," the soldier repeated.

The other trooper turned his head toward his partner at those words and caught Kanan's second suggestion. "These aren't the people you're looking for."

"These aren't the people we're looking for," the second trooper said in an identical tone.

"You want all of us to move along," Kanan's voice and another small movement. The third trooper narrowed his eyes at the Jedi suspiciously, and reached over his back for his blaster rifle. Kanan tried again, pushing the trooper's mind as hard as he could. Ezra felt something shift in the Force and the trooper relaxed.

"Move along," the tall trooper said, finally. "All of you move along."

"You heard the soldier. Come on," Kanan muttered. Sabine was so stunned, Kanan had to grab her arm and move her and Ezra in front of him, shoving them down the hallway. "Let's go while we still can."

Sabine tugged the dark hood over her head as they entered into the open area that all the concourses split off of, arranged like the spokes in a huge wheel. "How?" she managed, turning her head to see Kanan's face. He'd just said something and those troopers had gone along with it. "How did you…"

"Later. Keep moving." Kanan was trying to focus on extending his senses around them, to identify potential ripples in the Force that might forewarn a problem. There was nothing, however. The Force moved around them like a placid river, carrying them back toward the Ghost.

They crossed the crowded space, entered their hall and made their way to the appropriate bay. "We're off this rock," he muttered as he ushered them inside the ship. Zeb was there on the ramp, bo-rifle at the ready, pacing impatiently until he saw them.

"Everything okay?" the Lasat asked.

"Yeah." Kanan followed Ezra and Sabine on board, then hit the button to close the ramp. "They must have been watching the lockers or maybe they just have everyone's description, I'm not sure. Let me tell Hera it's time to go." He climbed up the ladder, followed by Zeb, Ezra and Sabine.

The Twi'lek was turned around in the pilot's seat, looking in his direction as he stood in the cockpit doorway. "Time to go?"

"Definitely. They are on the lookout for people matching our description. It was a little close."

"There's two or three planets near Nara Prime we can lay low on. We can hang around there until you and Ezra are ready for the Jedi Temple."

"Sounds great." Kanan slipped into the co-pilot's seat. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Zeb talking to Ezra and Sabine.

"How did you get out of there without a fight?" Hera had already called for clearance to go, and she wasted no time lifting off.

"Jedi secret." He crossed his arms and propped his feet up on the control panel, looking very smug.

"Okay, Kanan Jarrus. Keep your secrets." Hera swatted at his feet, leaning over them to flip some switches for the hyperdrive.

The Ghost entered the upper atmosphere and the dark of space greeted them. "Chop. Plot a jump to the Nara system." The droid warbled a reply as she turned to Kanan.

"I've got another secret," he leaned in, whispering. "I saw Sabine and Ezra holding hands."

"Seriously? What have you been teaching that boy?" She raised an eyebrow and shoved Kanan playfully. They both laughed softly, then looked seriously at each other. "What did they teach about this type of thing in the Jedi Order?"

"They didn't." He said thoughtfully, then began to grin. "Once I was on my own it was a learn-as-you-go kind of thing." The look on his face made her want to smack him and kiss him at the same time.

"Oh really? Were you a fast learner?" She asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll have to be the judge of that." He replied, kissing her for the first time since he'd been back. The kiss was heavy with all the emotions they'd been holding back over the past few days, and it left them both breathless. "Um…what do you think?" he asked, his voice a rough whisper.

Chopper muttered something, but neither of them paid any attention to his grumbling.

"I think…I need to take another reading," she leaned in and kissed him this time, gently fisting her hand in his hair to pull him in. Her teeth nipped at his bottom lip before she released him, grinning mischievously.

"I think I need more lessons," he breathed.

"I might have time later tonight…" She raised an eyebrow, still close enough to him to be taking his breath as the blue of hyperspace turned her skin to an aqua-green. He couldn't stop looking at her; she was just that beautiful in any light.

"I think that might be a date," he replied, "if the anticipation doesn't kill me first."

She smiled knowingly. "Good." The sounds of Ezra, Sabine and Zeb laughing made her glance to the common area. "Let's go see what our girl found before I end up doing something very inappropriate."

They walked in to see a full set of Mandalorian armor laid out on the Dejarik table. "Wow. I see why you had to go back," Hera said.

"Yeah. Students at the academy know what it looks like, so it's gonna need a new paint job." Sabine looked over the stripes on her armor. "I…I know it put everybody at risk to get it, but I couldn't just leave it…"

"We understand." Kanan said, immediately.

"That's right, kit. I feel the same way about my bo-rifle."

She looked at them both, then nodded. "Thanks, guys."

"So, I only have one question." Ezra spoke up. "How long before you teach me how to do what you did to those troopers, Kanan? That's gotta be some kind of Jedi thing. Hera, you should have seen it!"

"First of all, it WAS a Jedi thing. Secondly, I'm NOT teaching you how to do that until…until much later. If at all." Kanan put on his best Jedi-expression and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hera, it was crazy. Kanan just told them that we weren't the people they were looking for and they let us go. It was …" he shook his head, "unbelievable."

"It **was** pretty cool." Sabine said, a grin on her features.

"It doesn't always work, but when it does…it can get you out of a lot of trouble." Kanan shrugged. He cast an eye over to Ezra. "We're en route to the Nara System, Padawan. Isn't there something you need to be doing? To get ready?"

"Oh...uh…Meditation." Ezra sighed. "Yes, Master." Ezra headed toward the room he shared with Zeb, but Kanan stopped him.

"Try the cargo bay. I'll be in there in a few minutes and we'll do some training."

Ezra's eyes brightened. "Really?" he asked. He'd been meditating for what felt like forever and a change, any change, would be welcome.

"Yes, Padawan. Really." Kanan watched him go while shaking his head, a grudging smile on his face.

"What?" Hera asked bemusedly.

"He just reminds me of myself at his age."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Zeb stood and stretched, stifling a yawn. "Well, I'm just glad to have the room to myself for a while. Think I'll take a nap."

"You do that, Zeb." Kanan said, heading off to his own room. "Call us for dinner if we lose track of time," he called to Hera.

"Sure, love." She turned her attention on Sabine. "What do you say we show these guys how to make dinner? I got some nerf steaks last time we bought supplies." Hera helped Sabine pack up her armor to carry it to her room.

"I'd love to," Sabine replied.

* * *

 **Then**

 **Jedi Temple of Bal-Nur**

Caleb Dume followed his master up the stone stairs that wound around the mountain and led to the Jedi temple. It was the tallest mountain he'd ever seen; they'd been ascending for what seemed like days but in reality, was only a few hours.

"So, what's the reason for putting the temple so far up here, Master?" Caleb asked, pausing on a turn of the staircase to catch his breath. The air felt like it was thinning up here.

"In order to make the Padawan too tired to ask continuous questions." Depa answered, without missing a beat. Caleb would have felt embarrassed if he hadn't caught the beginnings of a smile on her face as she turned to look at him.

"Water?" She took a drink from the canteen she carried and then offered it to Caleb.

He took it thankfully. "How much farther do we have to go?"

She glanced up, feeling the wind blow the escaped strands of her hair back from her face. Bal-Nur was typically a temperate planet, but on this warm day the wind was welcome. "Not very much. I can see the entrance from here."

"Really?" He climbed to where she stood and looked up. There was definitely an entrance up there. "Woah! I see it!"

She smiled. "Padawan, watching you definitely reminds me of what it was like to be a Padawan myself. It's truly a joy." She laughed to herself softly.

He turned to her, his blue-green eyes wide. "I never asked…but did you face your test on Illum like younglings usually do?"

"No." She shook her head and gestured to the stone steps. They sat.

"As you know, my own Master is quite…unique. He has always walked his own path in the Force, and so my ordeal was different. When it came time, the Force instructed him to bring me to the temple on Lothal. Each temple is different, and the focus of the vergence contained within the temple determines the focus of the test you are given. Sometimes the Force guides certain Masters in a certain direction. Sometimes Padawans are led by the Force to a certain temple to gain their Kyber crystal."

"Did the Force tell you where we should go, Master?" Caleb asked.

She nodded.

"Wow." He looked up again at the temple entrance. It was shadowed inside. "I'm …I'm a little scared," he admitted. "I don't want to fail."

She thought a moment, considering her words carefully. "Padawan, those feelings are normal for all who walk our path. Anyone in your position would feel so. However, it is what you DO with your fear that makes you a Jedi. The sum of your training, the strength of your connection to the Force, your heart…these things will help you conquer your fears, however you may be tested."

He nodded, taking a deep breath and sensing the powerful flow of the Force. It really did feel different here, near the vergence. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

They stood. "I think so," he said. She started climbing again. "I hope so…" he whispered to himself, as he followed.

The entrance was wide, decorated with two simple but imposing stone statues of temple guards on each side. The impassive masks seemed to stare down at Caleb as he approached them. For a moment, he had the crazy thought that the lightsaber pikes they held in each hand would be dropped across the doorway and bar them from entering. He closed his eyes a moment and thought hard. Depa had told him that strange things could happen in the Jedi Temple and he should be prepared for anything.

 _Allow me to enter, Temple Guards,_ he let his thoughts flow through the Force, and he opened his eyes to peer up into the eye slits of the closest masked figure. Almost instantly, the feeling of resistance had passed and he entered, following his Master.

There was a huge slab of stone that hung in a track inside the entrance, blocking the way. To the left was the tinkling sound of water flowing into a small cistern. Ancient Jedi carvings representing the light side and dark side of the Force covered the basin and wall behind it.

"So. How do we get in?" Depa Billaba asked him, with a raised eyebrow.

"The Force, of course." Caleb said.

"Well, then, go ahead, Padawan," she gestured to the giant slab of stone.

Caleb held out his hand, closed his eyes and concentrated. The slab shuddered slightly but did not move. His forehead creased in confusion, and he tried one more time. In the past, he had moved things heavier than this by using his Force strength, but the stone stubbornly stayed put.

"I can't move it," he said, gasping with effort.

"So. How do we get in?" Depa asked with quiet amusement.

He walked up to the stone and placed both hands upon it, dropping into meditation easily. The Force was a mighty river here; it surged around him and he could feel its current, strong and deep. His intention surged outward and an answer was returned.

"Master and Padawan have to work together to move the stone." He said, turning to her. She was smiling, and he knew he had the right answer.

"Very well. Beside me, Caleb." She held out a hand for him, and placed it on his shoulder. Positioning herself behind him, they stood together as Padawans and Masters had done for time out of mind. They both extended their hands and the stone moved as easily as if it were made from light Oro wood.

"Wow." Caleb opened his eyes to see the now-glowing glyphs carved into the stone entrance. Then something occurred to him. "Hey-you knew how to get in here the whole time, didn't you?"

"Ah, but this is not MY test, is it?" she said knowingly. "Lead the way, my Padawan."

"Yes, Master." To give his eyes time to adjust, he took slow tentative steps into the darkness and, as they vanished into the temple, the stone slid soundlessly back into place.

* * *

 **Now**

The memory faded around Kanan as he stood on the upper level of the cargo bay, gazing down at Ezra, watching his Padawan meditate. The kid had been working hard on strengthening his connection with the Force, ever since their first meditation session together. Even now, he could hear the kid's soft repetition of the Jedi Code. More than fighting ability, Ezra would need a strong connection to the Force to make it through the test on Nara Prime.

Kanan narrowed his eyes and examined the kid's Force presence. The boy's goodness in the Force was like a golden glow, and it bore no trace of the darkness that had clung to him after that first accidental use of the dark side. This was good. It meant Ezra was ready.

He climbed down the ladder. "Ezra," he spoke softly, so as not to jar his apprentice from his meditation. After long moments, Ezra opened his eyes.

"The Force seems really quiet tonight," Ezra murmured.

"I sense it too. You may feel a difference in the Force as we near Nara Prime." Kanan stood, now holding his lightsaber in one hand. "Force temples are built on vergences, or strong points in the Force. In those places, the current of the Force is heavily concentrated and unexpected things can happen." he thought a moment, as Ezra got to his feet. "Do you have a training remote nearby? Like what you might use for blaster practice?"

Ezra nodded and ran to the back of the cargo bay. He rummaged around in a crate and came back with the same one that he and Zeb used to keep their skills sharp. Kanan examined it. "This will work," he said, handing it back to Ezra.

Kanan ignited his lightsaber, then adjusted the strength and length of the blade while Ezra watched. "Having your own lightsaber will be very different, but I thought you might want to try this." He handed Ezra his saber, and took the remote.

Ezra stood, looking down at it with wide eyes. "What…what do you want me to do?"

"Don't worry. It's in training mode, so it won't cut your arm off or slice a hole in the ship." Kanan told him. "It's safer that way. Just try moving naturally, and attempt to deflect the stun blasts of the remote, so I can get a sense of what you can do."

He put the remote on the easiest setting and tossed it up in the air. It began to give out little hisses as it moved from place to place. The first stun blast it issued hit Ezra in the arm.

"Don't concentrate so much on the remote, concentrate on the Force. Don't think about where the bolt **is** , let the Force guide your hand to where the next bolt will be." Kanan watched as Ezra got hit twice with the blasts. Then the kid narrowed his eyes, concentrated, and began to get it. He deflected two bolts and then three more before the remote got in another shot on him.

Ezra bit his bottom lip as he focused, moving the blue blade first in wide arcs, then adjusting himself to only controlled movements, which allowed him to cover the space around his body without leaving himself open to attack.

"You're learning." Kanan said, in a pleased voice. He watched while the kid worked up a sweat, moving around the cargo bay. Finally, Kanan held up a hand and used the Force to call the remote to him.

"That was hard, but I could really feel the Force guiding me at the end." Ezra said.

Kanan nodded. "Not bad for your first session, Padawan. One day soon, we're going to try training in a helmet with the blast shield down."

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "No way. Who could see like that?"

"You should never trust your eyes. They can deceive you." Kanan said. "A Jedi who is one with the Force can deflect blaster bolts, turning the shots back on his or her attackers. Just by your movements you can form a shield around yourself and those you are protecting. Watch."

He took the saber from Ezra and bowed his head a moment to center himself. Then he reset the remote. He threw it up in the air and began deflecting shots at a rapid pace while Ezra watched in awe. It was as if Kanan's graceful movements were part of a dance; they reminded him of watching Kanan with his saber during the vision he'd experienced. Looking through the Force, he saw Kanan's connection to it, the flow of the light both moved through him and around him.

Eventually the remote's program was complete and it stopped moving, just hanging in the air in front of them. Kanan brought his saber up to a starting position, then raised his hand and the remote responded to it.

"Wow. You can teach me how to do all of that?"

"I'll try my best," Kanan said, "But it won't happen overnight. First you must learn the Jedi lightsaber forms. The first one we will work on is Shii-Cho, or the Way of the Sarlacc. This was the first form traditionally learned by Jedi younglings."

He and Kanan began to work his way through the body target zones, and then he and Ezra moved to practicing the parries, attacks and various velocities. By the time Hera called them for dinner, they had finished their practice and were simply discussing the philosophy of the form, sitting at rest on the cargo bay floor.

"Let's stop for today." Kanan said, standing, then pulling Ezra up. The kid had worked hard and was obviously worn out. "You worked hard."

Ezra nodded and was quiet for long moments as they put everything away. Then he spoke from the corner of the bay, near the storage crate. "Do you think I'll do okay?" He asked, casting a glance over his shoulder. "Will I pass the test?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. It only matters what you believe." Kanan motioned to him and Ezra came over to him. When Ezra reached him, Kanan placed his hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "For the record, I believe in you. If you remember to put your faith in the Force, anything is possible."

Ezra nodded. "Thanks, Kanan."

Kanan was about to reply when Sabine looked over the upstairs railing. "Hey…you guys coming? We made nerf steaks…"

"Yes!" Ezra practically vaulted for the ladder, and Kanan followed.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. My favorite parts were, of course, the Jedi training and the flashback. (I love flashbacks with Master Billaba.) If you have a chance, please drop me a line and let me know what you thought. I had several requests for Sabezra, which is not usually my thing, but I tried to give you a slight hint of it. :)


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hi! Here's the newest chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please drop me a line and let me know what you think. Thanks to all the reviewers of the last chapter, and special thanks to "guest" for the correction on the nerf/bantha steaks. LOL! Keep me straight. It's flashback city and then Hera and Kanan make good on their words from the cockpit (earlier in chapter 19). Sorry for not writing something a little more racy for that scene, but there are kids on here, so...I have to be responsible. Use your imagination... :)

BTW-Special shout-outs to Okadiah, Kgirl1, thewholeworldismagic, ja54591, IWantColoredRain and all the other people who review. You make this worthwhile!

* * *

Chapter 20

 **Then**

 **Temple on Bal-Nur**

"The carvings are glowing," Caleb murmured as he made his way around the room. There were three doorways that led out of the initial antechamber. The floor in front of each opening glowed with concentric circles and ancient symbols of the Light and Dark.

"That appears to be the case." Depa stood slightly behind her charge as they examined the room around them. The pattern of tile on the floor was reminiscent of the tile in the temple on Coruscant.

She shifted her eyes back to Caleb as he stepped forward and examined the carvings. As he ran his fingertips down the impressed symbols, his touch made them glow a little brighter. "So, I have to pick which way we go, right?"

"Which way **you** go, Padawan." She replied, measuring him with her eyes.

He looked up at her with wide eyes as he rejoined her. "W-what?"

"I wait here for you. This is your test and your test alone…" She gestured to a nearby pillar where a hooded figure sat.

Caleb took two steps toward the figure leaning against the pillar, and then realized that the motionless figure with head inclined had been dead a long time. "Who was he?"

"A Master who had a Padawan fail his test, Caleb. Without two to open the door…there is no leaving."

Caleb looked up from where he had knelt near the base of the pillar. "You mean…?"

"I am placing my life in your hands, Padawan. If you do not return, I will not be able to open the temple."

"You…you trust me that much?" He was obviously struck by what she had said.

"You trusted **me** to be your Master…why should I not return that trust, youngling mine?" The term of endearment was punctuated with a hand on his shoulder. It felt heavy with responsibility. "I'll be right here." With a graceful motion, she knelt in a meditation pose, watching him carefully.

He nodded, his mouth suddenly dry with fear. "Emotion, yet peace," he breathed, trying to center himself. Turning toward the open doorways, he held out a hand and tried to sense where the Force flowed most strongly. He sensed nothing, not even a whisper. He dropped his hand and then turned backwards towards his master. By now she had settled into meditation, her hands on each knee in a wisdom mudra, her lips curved in a serene smile.

"Okay," he murmured to himself. It was clear that this was his task to accomplish, and like she'd said, there was no further help forthcoming. He held out a hand again, to sense the Force, and received nothing once more. _Okay, so I'm on my own._ _I can do this._

"Yes, you are and you can, Padawan," Depa's voice, tinted with amusement, spurred him on.

How could she be so calm? he wondered. With a heavy sigh, Caleb picked the middle path and entered the darkness.

* * *

The cave's smooth floor became rough-hewn the further he went. He picked his way carefully over the uneven surface taking several twists and turns down into the mountain before he caught his foot on an outlying hunk of rock and tripped. He seemed to fall further than he thought, and when he finally landed, he sensed a _shift_ in the Force. He opened his eyes, and glanced around.

Master Yoda was peering back at him. The little being had leaned down on his cane and was looking into Caleb's eyes. "Fail this test, you will. Too much fear. Too many questions."

Caleb sat up, looking around him. The Padawan was in the Jedi practice room, and he'd fallen and hit his head. He could feel blood trickling into his eye, and felt a strange sense of confusion. "I don't want to fail." He told Master Yoda, wiping the blood away. There was a strange feeling of déjà vu, like the haze that rose around Coruscant on bright days.

"Yet you will. You **will** fail. Know enough you do not. The dark side is coming. Ready, you will not be." Master Yoda began walking away.

"What do I still need to learn?" He called, feeling a cold slick fear twist inside of him. There was still so much he needed to learn, wasn't there? His whole life, he'd had that feeling, that there wouldn't be enough time to learn everything he needed to know. This burning desire had earned him a lot of teasing from the other younglings and disapproval from some of his Temple Masters. Even his Master's Master, Mace Windu disapproved of his endless questions. Only Master Billaba had seemed to understand and accept the overwhelming need he had for information. She not only answered his questions, she encouraged them.

"What does the Force tell you?" The green being called over his shoulder. "Depend on it, you should. One day alone you will be. What will you do then? Hmm?" The little creature turned to him, lifting a brow in question.

Caleb was at a loss. Was this how Master Yoda really thought of him? It shook his confidence. "I…I don't know," he admitted.

"That is why you fail." Master Yoda frowned, shook his head, then went, tap, tap, tapping into the doorway and beyond.

Caleb felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. Master Yoda's disapproval was a very heavy burden to bear. He got to his feet, looking around him, but he was alone. He gathered himself and headed in the same direction as Master Yoda. Maybe he could find the ancient Jedi and gain some clarification, or perhaps he would find Master Billaba.

When he stepped into the hallway, he realized that something was very, very wrong. The Coruscant Temple's Great Hall was completely darkened and empty, lit only by moonlight from the four moons. He walked along one wall, feeling an increasing unease. Never before had he felt the dark side sliding along the hallways in the Jedi Temple, but here it was, like a snake of shadow, hiding just outside his vision. It was as if the darkness had been there all along, but he'd never seen it before. Not like this.

He peered into the library. Usually at any time of the day or night, he could find Jedi studying, writing, or engaging in discussion in the large room. However, it was completely empty. The boy continued on, finding the other practice rooms empty as well. He made his way to the clan dormitories, entering the Bear Clan dormitory of younglings. The room was usually brightly lit and full of giggling younglings…or at least it had been. Now it was darkened, lit only with emergency lights and the moonlight streaming through the windows. Caleb called out.

"Hey? Anybody?" He walked further into the darkened room, and rounded the rows of beds to a chilling sight.

Younglings lay on the floor, unmoving. Eyes open and unblinking, staring up at the ceiling. Bodies broken and twisted. Black streaks that had to be blood, marking the places where limbs used to be.

"No—" his voice crumbled as he took steps backwards, his eyes bulging in horror. His mind couldn't reconcile what he was seeing with the home he'd spent his entire life in. He shook his head as he backed up against the wall across the hallway from the room's entrance.

The High Council Chamber. Caleb made a run for it, using back stairwells and shortcuts. He'd been here once, with his master, to speak to Master Windu. Certainly there would be Jedi there. He could explain what he'd seen and they would know what to do.

He skidded into the room and saw Master Windu on the floor. A lightsaber burn formed a dark mark across his chest, and his hand was missing. His harsh expression looked up at the ceiling, as if he'd found, in death, one more thing to disapprove of. Caleb's eyes began to fill with tears. This was unthinkable. That the entirety of the Jedi order would be gone, or dead? He backed away, feeling uncertainty and terror. He was alone, and he didn't know what to do. The words repeated, a horrified refrain in his mind.

He bumped up against someone, and letting out a scream, he turned with both hands out, ready to Force push whoever it was back into the wall.

It was Depa Billaba. "Caleb." She said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Her voice was upset and grave. "Something horrible has happened."

He felt a wellspring of relief, fighting back tears. "Master…I saw…one of…of the clans…they were all dead…" He managed, his voice hitching. "Where is everyone…where is…"

She began to answer him, reaching out to rest a comforting hand against his cheek, but all of a sudden, a glowing blood-red lightsaber blade emerged from her chest. She gasped for breath, once, twice, then slumped to the ground, her eyes still fixed on Caleb.

The Padawan looked up to a black hooded figure, standing behind her as it pulled its blood-red blade from her chest. Depa's body slid to the floor, her eyes beginning to dull as life left them.

He moaned and backed up. "No. No. No." His voice was a low, wretched groan.

A hooded figure came forward, carrying the red lightsaber, the likes of which Caleb had never seen before. He'd heard of how Sith would take kyber crystals and warp them to the dark side, but had never seen it. He searched the cowl for the creature's face, but it was too dark to see.

There was a slash, which while wide, still managed to brush by him close enough to burn the skin of his arm as he leapt back. "Give in, boy. You are the last. You cannot hope to defeat me." The voice was a sibilant rasp that caused fear to bloom in his chest. It was the sound of hopelessness and death. Of hatred and evil warped in and in upon itself until madness could be the only result.

Caleb backed away, looking around the room helplessly.

"Who are you, boy? Who are you to challenge me? The Jedi are dead." The face under the hood was impossible to see, but all of a sudden Caleb felt despair as the dark side fell over him. He was sure, everyone he loved was dead and there was no way to stand against this dark figure. How could he hope to do so when every Jedi he'd known and depended on was gone?

Caleb dropped his head, closing his eyes and reaching out for the Force.

 _Help me._

At the answer, he looked up.

"Not all of us." He reached out and his master's lightsaber flew into his hand. "I am Caleb Dume, Padawan of Jedi Master Depa Billaba." He ignited the lightsaber and took a Form III stance, which she would have approved of. "And the Force is with me."

By now, the Force was a tidal wave of light, flowing into him and out from his every movement. He could see it all now. There was nothing to fear as long as he was one with the Force and remembered that it was with him, in everything. He would probably lose this battle, but as a Jedi, he was fulfilling his purpose in the universe, and he was at peace.

The darksider attacked savagely. They were violent forceful attacks meant to intimidate and frighten, but Caleb remained unfazed. Blow for blow, he parried the attacks of his foe, giving himself over completely to the drowning warmth of the Light.

Finally, with a scream of effort, the creature pushed Caleb back against a wall, holding him there with the Force and approaching with his red blade, but he could not get the Padawan's new found calm to break. Again, Caleb felt the Force _shift_ …

All of a sudden, the attack stopped. The darksider disengaged his blade and bowed his head. Then, the whole thing-the room, the figure and all its horror-melted into darkness. Caleb dropped his stance, realizing that even the lightsaber he'd held had been part of a vision. His hand was empty. The cave around him- the smells of the dirt, the rock, and the dampness—reassured his senses of his location. He had never been in the Coruscant Temple at all.

"Woah," he breathed. When he had been in the vision, he'd not questioned any of it. He'd simply forgotten he was being 'tested' and just reacted. The Force seemed to surge in agreement. "I get it." He said softly, to the comforting darkness of the cave. "I should not place all my faith in other Jedi. I have to trust myself, and trust the Force to guide me. The tenets say…self-reliance must be shown."

Almost as if in response, there was a blue glow from the darkness. Caleb walked towards it, picking his way carefully over the unfamiliar ground, until he reached the other side of the cave and could see what was there. The glow was coming from a crystal, embedded in the rock. It flashed like a tiny blue star, and grew brighter when his fingertips brushed the surface of the living crystal.

And it was singing.

Caleb was filled with wonder. This was **his** crystal. He reached to take hold of it, and as if by magic, it fell from the rock into his hand. Looking up into the darkness, he saw tiny reflections of the blue crystal he held in each of the crystals that lined the ceiling. Listening, he could hear the echoes of the songs of all of other crystals.

 _Thank you_ , he thought to the Force. _I will try to be a Jedi worthy of this gift._

* * *

 **Now**

Something woke Hera from her sleep in the middle of the night, and she struggled to identify what it was in the low lights of the ship. The warmth of Kanan's body was gone. That's what it was. She'd fallen asleep with the comforting tickle of his breath against her neck.

Earlier, as everyone had turned in for the night, Kanan had come to her room, knocking softly, then standing in the doorway with that sideways grin of his that said he was up to something. "I came to see if you had some time," he'd said, managing to look both roguish and shy.

"For you," she'd answered, "I have all the time in the world." She'd held out a hand and he'd come to her, immediately taking her face in his palms and pulling her lips to his. His kisses were echoes of the ones in the cockpit earlier, but this time, nothing stopped the natural progression of lips on lips to hands on skin, to a trail of clothing items left scattered across the floor to her bed.

He'd been an incredibly attentive lover: both giving and greedy, experienced but innocent, and gentle yet hungry with desire. He was a tantalizing mix of contradictions that, being so unexpected, had overwhelmed her senses. They'd fallen asleep in each other's arms, her fingertips twined in his hair and his hand brushing her cheek.

Why would he have left her? She rolled over to see if he was, indeed, truly gone, but he hadn't gone far. She could see him, sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed, leaning back against it. His eyes were closed and his hands folded in his lap. She sat up and moved to that end, unsure if he was meditating or if this was something else.

"You okay, love?" she asked softly, reaching out to brush his shoulder with one slim, green hand.

He nodded slowly. "I was dreaming."

"Kanan?"

"I dreamed about going to get my kyber crystal," he said simply. "It happened a long time ago."

She found herself unable to keep her hand from sliding up to tangle itself in his long loose brown hair. It was so soft. "What was it like?" she said, smoothing his hair back.

"I was scared. Scared to fail the test, at first." He shook his head. "I haven't thought about getting my lightsaber crystal for a long time. Things moved quickly once Master Billaba took me on, and…then she was gone and I tried not to think of anything to do with my previous life." There was a pause and she felt it as a shiver went through him.

"Come back to bed. You're cold," she said, and he looked at her for the first time. She patted the mattress, moving to the back of the bunk so that he could crawl in beside her. He spoke when they were settled again, the reassurance of touch between them. "I…I didn't realize it then, but the Force was sh…showing…me what the future held." His voice wobbled a bit with emotion, but he closed his eyes and regained control. "In my vision, I was alone in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Everyone was dead…murdered. There was a…redblade who murdered them. Ev…even the younglings. I…I found them dead, then I had to face him alone. I was afraid at first, but then everything changed.

"I felt that I was in the right place. Doing what the Force had set me to do." The memory of how that had felt spread through him made him realize how much he'd missed having that sense of purpose in his life. That sense of **rightness**. The sense that he was fulfilling his purpose in the universe. That was it. That was what he had lost so long ago—it had been easier to put all of that away, to hide his past in the darkness to survive. And in doing so, he'd forgotten…maybe the most important part. He'd simply locked it away and forgotten the key. "My whole life as a Padawan, I was…I guess you would say obsessed with asking questions…obsessed to know everything. I always had this feeling that I wouldn't have the chance to ask questions later."

"Almost as if you knew your time would be limited." Hera breathed, understanding exactly what he was getting at.

He nodded. "I had to know why something was done, Not just how. After the test, my master and I talked afterwards. She helped me determine that I gained my crystal by showing self-reliance. I just figured the vision…was to show me what it was like to be on my own…to have to rely on myself alone when I couldn't ask questions any longer. I didn't think that it was trying to show me what would happen in the future. But that's what it was doing. I can't believe I never realized it before." He shook his head, then turned completely to her in the bed, grasping both hands. "I was so angry…angry for a long time with the Force for not warning us about Order 66. But it did. I just didn't see it."

She leaned in and pressed her forehead against his own. "You were just a child. You couldn't have known."

He nodded. "Not even my master saw it. I think she …knew something was to come. You know, sometimes I'd hear Jedi, council members, talking in hushed voices…I think they knew a change was coming…a balance to the Force I heard some say, but they didn't talk to the rest of us about it," he paused. "My master also told me not to get too attached to how things were because they would change. Maybe… she knew something she just wasn't able or allowed to put into words."

"Kanan," Hera had been watching the play of expressions over his face. "I know she would be proud of you today. Of what you're doing to help Ezra."

He looked into her eyes, unsure as he thought of how he'd allowed himself be tempted by the dark side. He wasn't so quick to trust himself anymore, and agreeing that he'd done something to be proud of was difficult, if not impossible. He didn't want to delude himself—he'd done nothing worthy of any kind words lately. However, it was sweet of Hera to see the best in him, and Force how he loved her! He leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. "What would I do without you?"

She sensed something of his internal struggle, so she moved to capture his lips with her own. "I believe in you, Kanan Jarrus," she whispered into them. "I'm gonna keep saying it until you believe it too."

* * *

 **Next up: Kanan and Ezra face Nara Prime.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: It was so very hard to write this chapter. Who would meet Ezra and Kanan in the temple? What kinds of tests would they face? I hope what I wrote will satisfy the story and you, my friends. On to the action…**

* * *

21.

Nara Prime was a lush green planet, with huge swaths of forest covering its surface. The Jedi Temple was located at the bottom of a rocky-sided gorge, formed by a river that had cut its way through the rock. Luckily the settlements on the planet were few and far between, and none were near the area Hera picked to shelter the _Ghost_. The sparse population had led the Empire to believe there was nothing of value on the planet; therefore, the Imperial presence was minimal. The _Ghost_ had been planetside for two days to allow Kanan and Ezra some time to prepare before entering the Jedi Temple. During the downtime, Sabine and Zeb had taken the Phantom to a nearby planet for supplies including climbing equipment.

The Jedi and apprentice began to descend midmorning, and Ezra was the first to reach the bottom of the gorge. He detached the safety rope he was using and peered up to see Zeb, who had been monitoring them, looking down from far up. He waved. Returning the gesture, Zeb disappeared above them.

Ezra looked around, absorbing the beauty of the place. The river was clear; its bed was spotted with stones of various colors, shapes and sizes. There were the soft sounds of birdsong in the trees that lined the river's edge, casting cool green shadows. He turned to watch a purple bird that resembled a convor soar over, and discovered Kanan had landed silently behind him.

"Pretty peaceful place." Ezra murmured, reaching idly down to pick up a rock and toss it into the river.

Kanan worked on releasing the catches on his safety harness as he spoke. "It is." When he was free, he approached Ezra where he stood on the edge of the platform.

"Were you sca…um…nervous when you did this with your Master?" Ezra asked, turning red when he realized his slip wasn't missed by Kanan. He avoided his Master's gaze when suddenly, Kanan put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

"Yeah. Of course," he answered softly. "But you push forward anyway."

Ezra nodded. Turning, he looked up at the archway in front of them, feeling the Force seem to flow out from the temple. "The Force is really strong here, just like you said."

"Yeah. It is." Kanan followed Ezra up to the entrance. "You're closer to the Force near a vergence. It's a nexus point…like a well of Force energy. Strange things can happen to Force-users in places like this, so be prepared for anything."

Ezra nodded, scanning the area. "So how do we get in?" he asked.

Kanan watched amusedly as his Padawan walked up to the two towering doors leading into the side of the rock. Ezra was so like he himself had been at this age, and it caused a bittersweet ache in his heart. But it was a good ache, and he wondered if his Master had felt much the same way watching him take his first steps. "It's your job to figure that out for us."

"Oh." Ezra removed his gloves and placed a hand between the two doors, feeling the weight and coolness of the metal against his palm. Then he pushed with the Force. "They're heavy. And there's something else…keeping them closed." He closed his eyes to concentrate as he struggled to try and move them, but they were as solid and unmovable as stone. "Kanan? I think…I think we need to try it together."

Kanan stepped up behind him and they both raised hands together to move the doors. The Force flowed out, and the doors swung soundlessly inward on their concealed hinges. "Good job, kid," Kanan said as he followed his student inside. The doors swung closed behind them with a metallic clunk.

"Why do I get the feeling you knew how to get inside all the time?" Ezra asked.

"Because I did." Kanan answered. "Quite a few temples were built that way." He placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder as they took their first steps through the hallway.

It should have been dark within, but it wasn't. There was a soft glow from recessed areas in the ceiling that they noticed as their eyes adjusted. The room they were in was large, and open, but there was still a heavy sense of the tons of rock above them. There were two more doorways coming off from each side, in addition to the three ahead of them.

"How far do you think these passages go back?"

"A long way. There are stories of Padawans getting lost in Jedi Temples, never to be seen again."

Ezra looked over his shoulder at Kanan, a silent question in his eyes: _What if I don't make it?_

"Ezra…If you fail, we both fail." Kanan answered. "It takes two Force users to open the door."

"You…" Ezra's mouth was dry. "You trust me that much?"

His answer was simple, accompanied by Kanan's unwavering gaze. "I do."

For a moment, Ezra wrestled with the revelation, dropping his eyes. Threads of worry were quickly weaving themselves into a smothering blanket of panic. He took a deep breath, trying to control himself and glanced over to the door. "Um…okay. So which way do we go?" he asked, peering through one of the doorways in front of him. They were all dark inside, and he felt his panic intensify. _Get a grip_ , he warned himself. It didn't seem to help.

"'We' aren't going anywhere. You are. One of the tenets of the Jedi is self-reliance." He watched as Ezra's face went another shade of pale. Kanan softened his voice until it was encouraging, stuck between scaring Ezra and impressing upon the boy that this was a serious, possibly dangerous, undertaking. "Ezra, which way you go is up to you. Look into the Force and see what it tells you." Kanan said. Ezra needed to walk the line between worry and confidence…too much of either could cause him to fail.

Ezra closed his eyes and opened himself to the Force but it was moving strong and fast, too fast, like a swift river. "I…I'm not sure," Ezra said, his anxiety causing him to struggle, until he felt a touch on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to search Kanan's face. "What happens if I don't know what to do?"

"Take a seat." He gestured to the decoratively tiled floor and they sat. "Center yourself and just flow along with the Force. Your mind isn't settled, so the Force is reflecting your panic. You have to let that part go and eventually, you'll know what to do. Just breathe slowly and evenly. When you're ready, reach out."

Long minutes passed before Ezra could calm himself enough to be carried along in the warm current of the Force. He reached out, just like he'd done that first time and felt the Force purr like a warm Lothcat. He let it surround him and flow through him, soothing his senses. When he had achieved the level of calm he needed, he opened his eyes.

Kanan was watching him. "Better?" he asked.

Ezra nodded, then turned his head as something caught his eye. "I see a light in the middle door."

Kanan saw nothing, but knew that the indication was meant for Ezra and Ezra only. "Then you know your path." Kanan said.

Ezra's sense of calm had remained, and it seemed as if the Force was urging him toward the doorway. _Come, youngling_ , it seemed to call in many voices. "Master…I'll do my best," he said, turning to give Kanan one last look.

"I know. The Force is with you, Ezra. Listen to it and let it guide you."

Ezra nodded, then turned back to the light, which seemed to shine silvery blue and gold at the same time. He entered the doorway and was gone.

* * *

Kanan remained sitting in the semi-darkness, feeling the emptiness of the temple, as Ezra left the central area. He grew even more motionless, his open eyes unseeing as he slipped further under the surface of the Force. The current carried him deeper than he'd been able to reach on board the Ghost, or anywhere else for that matter.

The temple brought back a lot of painful memories. From the pillars that supported the roof to the scent of the place and the patterned tile on the floor, it was an echo of the temple in Coruscant, and that struck his heart deeply. He let the pain of the past sweep over him and pass through him and away. He had thought that he'd been able to wipe the past away, but it had been a lie. The past had been waiting, all this time, safely stowed in his memory.

Time seemed to dilate, and his breath slowed. He could feel the beats of his heart grow sluggish to match the pace of his respiration. Something was happening, and he welcomed the end to his indecision. He needed to know if he could still be a fit teacher for Ezra…and if he was on the right path to redemption for his mistakes. Being able to even enter the temple was a good sign, but he had to know for sure.

While he was meditating, his other senses expanded with his sense of time. It was as if he could feel the particles of the Force within each cell of his body, tiny sparks of life that spread outward from him to the universe. As he stayed motionless, he began to sense a cascade of golden, glowing atoms which manifested itself and twirled lazily with each whirl of the air currents as if they were mere dust motes.

This beauty of the Light made him realize all he'd so carelessly placed in jeopardy. He'd risked any hope of a future with Hera and Ezra when he faced the Pau'an and accepted the Dark greedily in order to defeat his enemy. His failure hung in the forefront of his mind, a contrasting inky blackness that threatened to block out the golden Light altogether.

 _What do you seek?_ the Force asked in the voices of all the Jedi he'd ever known.

He looked up wonderingly into the golden-flecked darkness as he replied: _Guidance. Redemption… Forgiveness if possible. I failed my principles and my teachers. I failed as a Jedi, and I'm sorry._

 _So. Only perfect beings, Jedi can be, hmmm?_ Now the voice of Master Yoda rose to the forefront of the voices. The diminutive Jedi was certainly long dead, now, but apparently a part of the Force like his master was.

 _I…I need to know. If I'm lost._ Try as he might, the right words would not come. _The dark… has a hold on me that I can't break. I need to know how to defeat this shadow inside me._

 _This is not all you wish to know, Padawan. You want to know if you can still teach that youngling how to be a Jedi. If you can pick up the teachings that you so carelessly tossed aside…hmmm?_

 _Yes._ He bowed his head.

 _What does the Force tell you? Ready to take on the responsibility of a Padawan are you, Caleb Dume?_

"The Force has warned me about the consequences if I do not train the boy. He…he will join the dark side."He spoke out loud, shaking his head. "I can't accept that and I must stop it from happening, Master Yoda."

 _Know that you do because of your own experience?_ Yoda's voice came to him through the Force. In his inner eye, he could still see the wizened teacher, a hint of amusement in his voice. But this time, heavy seriousness layered his tone.

Kanan nodded.

 _And learn from the dark side, did you, youngling?_

 _"_ I learned nothing but hatred, anger and fear. I tried to save Ezra and the others that way, but it was wrong. So…wrong."

 _Yet, accept the dark side to gain personal power you did not. You erred by trying to save others, and perhaps less blameworthy that is._

"Perhaps, perhaps not, Master Yoda. I had lost my way for a long time." His voice began to shake with emotion on the last words. "I forgot my purpose."

 _And yet, here you are with your student. Found your way, I say you have._ There was a hint of affection in Master Yoda's words. _The shadows around your heart will fade. You will find your own path with those you have drawn to you. Follow the Force, you must._

Kanan bowed his head again. "I will," he promised. "I won't lose my way again."

 _Know this, I do already,_ the voice replied.

* * *

"The Ashla runs strong here." Zeb said, sitting on the loading ramp beside Hera, who was worriedly watching the sun go down behind the trees in a brilliant show of pinks and yellows. They had been sitting silently for a while watching the sun set. She couldn't enjoy it, however, knowing that some of her crew…her family…were down there, facing things she couldn't imagine.

So, she turned her attention to Zeb. "The Ashla's like the Force for your people, right?" Hera thought she had heard Zeb praying to the Ashla from time to time, and had once asked Zeb about it.

"Yeah. I can feel it sometimes, but not like Kanan and Ezra. My people's relationship with the Ashla is different." Zeb had his bo-rifle on his knees and both of his hands rested on it. He seemed oddly at peace, eyes half closed in the brilliant light of sunset.

"So you can't tell what's going on down there." Hera said, disappointedly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"No. But it's definitely the Ashla here at work." The Lasat sat in quiet for a moment, then looked sidelong at Hera. "Something's changed between you and Kanan."

She blushed a little, but then met his eyes squarely. "Things have gotten…a bit more serious." She leaned to the side, resting against his strong shoulder. "I never wanted to…to fall in love. I've got our fight against the Empire to think about but…" She shrugged.

"Hey, things happen. We never planned to take two kids on board ship, either, but it happened. Everything with Kanan and the kid and now Sabine…it's right. You're not making a mistake. Kanan's pretty solid. I know he didn't seem like that at first, but…he is."

Hera smiled sidelong at Zeb. He could read her so well. "Jedi…they weren't allowed to fall in love, were they?"

"No, but it's not like there's a Jedi Council to come put a stop to it." Zeb said. "I always thought that was a stupid rule anyway. And when you look at the change in Kanan from the first time we found him-that's all you, Hera." He ran his fingers thoughtfully along the wrappings on his rifle. "I know because Kanan's a lot like me."

"What do you mean?"

"He's gotta have people to watch over. People to care about. It's who he is. You remember me, when you first found me. Guys like us don't do well alone. We're protectors at heart. With nothing to protect…things go bad pretty quick."

Hera did indeed remember. Zeb had been in bad shape, not taking care of himself or eating right. He'd been drinking far too much far too often. Once he'd come on board, though, he'd begun to change under her gentle care for him. And when they had rescued Ezra it was like Zeb completely turned around. Having her and Ezra to watch over had made all the difference in Zeb's life. What he said made sense.

"Zeb. You've gotten wise in your old age."

Zeb chuckled, then wrapped his arm around her affectionately. "Not that old." He reminded her. "Kanan said it might be a while before they returned, so maybe we oughta go find Sabine and make some dinner. It's gonna be a long night, and we don't wanna go through that unfortified. Plus, the kit's too skinny. Reminds me of Ezra when we got him. She's gotta eat."

"What would all of us do without you?" She actually leaned in and placed a kiss against the side of Zeb's head. The Lasat stood up and reached a hand down to pull her to her feet.

"I guess you're right. I am pretty amazing." Zeb grinned at her.

"Now if you could only learn to cook…"

* * *

Ezra blinked, then opened his eyes in the white hallway of an Imperial star destroyer, exactly like the one they'd rescued Kanan from. And exactly like the one he'd been held on before Hera and Zeb had found him, he realized with a sinking feeling. He stepped backwards until he hit the hard, metallic wall behind him. "This is kriffin' crazy…" he breathed, his eyes widening as he looked from side to side, expecting troopers every moment. He felt confused. Hadn't he been in some sort of cave? The Jedi Temple? Or was he still rescuing Kanan? Everything was jumbled up in his mind. Was the Inquisitor on his way? He tried to cast about to feel the creature, but sensed nothing. Maybe this was just a bad dream.

He chose a direction and made for the end of the hallway. Turning the corner, he saw that the next hallway was empty. Echoing footsteps alerted him to a presence, so he darted into the nearest room, closing the door behind him. He was just taking a deep breath when he heard a snap-hiss sound. Ezra turned with dread.

The Pau'an regarded him, a glowing firewhip in one hand lighting up the shadows of the room. As the creature snapped it, Ezra felt his blood run cold. "Apprentice. We have some unfinished business." His sharp teeth showed when he smiled; it reminded Ezra of the evil toothy grin of a nexu he'd seen in a book when he was a child. "Your master has fallen, and you are next."

"No! Kanan didn't fall…" Ezra shook his head, fumbling for his blaster, refusing to take his eyes off of the Grand Inquisitor. This was the creature that had hurt him so badly. This was the monster that had hurt Kanan. His fingers shook with fear, but he yanked the blaster/lightsaber off his belt. The lightsaber part hadn't been finished and wouldn't work, but the blaster would. He fired four quick shots which were easily dodged by the rapid movements of the evil creature.

"He was such a weak Jedi. It was only a matter of time before he fell. Become my apprentice and I'll spare his Twi'lek bitch. However, the Lasat's life is mine." He punctuated his words with a blow from the firewhip. Ezra caught the edge along his forearm with a hiss of pain. "Afraid and helpless. I can smell it on you, brat!" He slashed Ezra along the leg as well, a streak of burning pain. Ezra backed away, putting distance between them. "So helpless against the dark side. Unable to save anyone you care for. I will make you watch the rest of them die slowly."

Ezra was gritting his teeth through the pain. As he hit the wall there was a flick from the fire whip that just struck his left cheek, as he watched the Pau'an close in. "Your parents were killed by soldiers under my command. Your Jedi master fell to the dark side before I ended him. I will kill them all before I'm done."

"No…" Ezra shook his head, fear and pain cutting a jagged path through his center.

The Inquisitor pointed to a heap on the floor that Ezra hadn't noticed before. "Your Master…what's left of him. Have a good look." It was Kanan's lifeless body, leaning against the wall, head lolling to the side. The Jedi's eyes were half closed, and the lifeless blue-green irises were unfocused and staring. The Pau'an had cut out his heart; leaving a ragged, yet burnt wound in his chest. Ezra approached the body and fell to the floor. The tears came like they would never stop, and Ezra buried his face against Kanan's shoulder, not caring if the Inquisitor cut him down when his back was turned. A wail of hopelessness rose in him. The dark side was pressing into him, trying to gain entrance any way it could. He cried out, his grip twisted into Kanan's bloody sweater as his grief helplessly overwhelmed his senses for a time.

The Inquisitor fisted a hand in Ezra's hair and yanked him to his feet. "I will take the rest of them from you, boy, and you can do nothing to stop me. Unless you become my apprentice. Only by embracing the dark can you grow strong." He threw Ezra against the wall and used the Force to pin him there by his neck.

 _Embrace the Dark._ Ezra let out a strangled sob, struggling to control his emotions. The void that was the dark side was thrumming within his reach. Rich waves of power pulsed, power that would mean neither he nor those he loved would ever be hurt again. Power that meant he could defeat his enemies. He could save them… he would do anything to save them…

but in doing so he would lose everything.

He had watched Kanan struggle with what had happened on the star destroyer. The black rage inside of his master had made him almost unrecognizable as he had attempted to squeeze the life out of the Seventh Sister. Kanan's dark eyes had been full of a madness. It was a greedy nothingness that wanted to swallow up everything it could. It was the same look that was now on the Pau'an's face.

"Are you ready to see reason boy?" the Inquisitor sneered.

 _You can't be dead…oh Master, no…please…_ Ezra's eyes stayed fixed on Kanan's face. From this angle, it appeared that his eyes were closed in peace.

 _Not that way,_ Kanan's voice spoke in his mind. _Not by the dark side, Ezra. Use the Light._

 _Only the Light._ Ezra closed his eyes, feeling the Force radiating calmness and peace. When he opened his eyes, he fixed them on the Inquisitor's gray face. "Do whatever you want; I'll never turn to the dark side." The Force moved the fingers on his blaster to the right position without his even being aware of it. A brilliant blue blade shot from the emitter, and the Pau'an jerked back, startled as he dropped his hold on the Force.

Ezra was just as surprised. He tried to catch his breath while the fullness of the Force built in him, brightness upon brightness-like a star to match the lightsaber that glowed in front of him. Now that he'd chosen his path, there was no more room for fear. "The Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and I am not afraid of you." He couldn't begin to touch the edge of his grief over Kanan, so he pushed that into a deep spot in his mind. He would have time to mourn later. Revenge and fear couldn't be a part of this, or he would falter. He wouldn't disgrace his master's sacrifice by forgetting the lesson he'd been taught at such a steep price.

The fire whip was thrown to the side; the Inquisitor drew his red lightsaber and attacked with a scream of frustration. Ezra blocked, letting the Force guide his body into the right position. As he gave over his conscious mind to his trust in the Force, his movements grew more purposeful and sure and he countered every stroke. One of his ripostes left the Inquisitor off-balance, and he took advantage of the weakness, planting his blade squarely in the middle of the Pau'an's chest.

The Inquisitor vanished along with his glowing red-blade. Ezra blinked in confusion, his empty hand falling down from guard position. The destroyer, Kanan, the Inquisitor…it was all just gone…What was going on? He looked around in the semi-darkness, then collapsed to his knees when they refused to hold him up anymore. The test! Had he passed the test? Had he failed?

A universe of blue and gold stars lit up the darkness around him. His head was bowed, but he lifted it when he saw the tiny pinpricks of light, swirling around. The gold and silver sparkles drew close, dancing in the air around him. "That…that was the test, wasn't it? My master…he's not…he's not…"

The light coalesced into a tall form whose features grew more distinct as it spoke. He didn't have to see to know who it was.

"No, youngling. He is fine. Better than when you left him, even." Master Billaba reached out and placed a hand on Ezra's head where he knelt. Ezra felt it, but only faintly. Wherever Master Billaba was, she wasn't entirely **here** like she'd been in his vision. "And you. You have passed your ordeal."

He looked up at her bluish, ghostly transparent form as she continued to speak. "You saved your master as you were charged to do. You didn't falter when faced with the dark side. You are worthy of your kyber crystal, Padawan." She lifted her hand and made a "come here" motion over her shoulder. Ezra looked up as a blue crystal floated from across the cave. It shone like a tiny blue star as it floated into his hand. He cradled it and looked into Master Billaba's eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered, getting to his feet.

"Of course, Padawan Ezra Bridger." She paused, gazing on him for long moments. "My time is over and your time is beginning. We shall not meet again until your time in this universe is over." She tilted her head as she looked at him. "I know Caleb-Kanan…is in good hands with you. Take care of each other, and walk the path the Force has put in front of you."

"I will." Ezra whispered, looking up in awe. She smiled in return. And with that, her shade exploded into a cloud of thousands of tiny lights that flew outwards into the cave like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, and faded gently back into the darkness.

Ezra looked down, feeling the living warmth of his crystal in his clasped hands. It was singing to him, just like Kanan said it would. "Goodbye," he called softly into the darkness. Then he stood and made his way to the doorway, using the light of his crystal to guide him.

* * *

 **A/N: It's me again. How did that go? I wrote it several ways (including one with Mace Windu questioning Kanan!) but I felt that Yoda was the only way to go there. I felt like Yoda had the depth of experience and understanding to help Kanan in his situation. He needed that kind of support because of what he'd gone through. Then with Ezra…I struggled to choose who would give him his crystal. Master Billaba to the rescue again. I felt it nicely rounded off Ezra's vision of earlier when he was sent to help get Kanan back. I hope you agree, or at least that you enjoyed it. One or two more chapters and this story will be a wrap!**


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: See below. :)

22.

Kanan stood up when he saw Ezra's shadow in the doorway. The boy paused, then closed the distance with Kanan, his face coming into view as he drew close.

"Kanan…" He murmured, lifting his blue eyes to his master's. Kanan could see exhaustion in his Padawan's eyes and feel it surging through their bond.

"You okay?" He asked gently as Ezra drew close and opened his hand.

A blue star glowed in Ezra's palm. Once Kanan had seen it, Ezra closed his hand around the kyber crystal and held his fist to his chest, cradling it.

In response, Kanan wrapped his arms around Ezra and hugged him close. "You did it, Ezra," he said softly, into the top of the kid's head. "I'm so proud of you."

"I saw her again…Master Billaba." He spoke into Kanan's chest. "She gave me my crystal…and said we had to follow the path the Force puts in front of us."

"Then we will." Kanan promised as he released Ezra. The kid was looking at him with questions in his eyes.

"She also said I wouldn't see her again in this universe. Will she…will she be okay?"

"Yeah, kid. She is one with the Force. The Jedi always thought of that as a reason to rejoice." Kanan said thoughtfully.

"I think I know what you mean, but it's hard…" Ezra looked down into his palm, as if he still couldn't believe that the tiny shard of crystal was now his.

"Yeah, I know. I always had trouble with that one too. I…struggled a lot after she died," he admitted.

"How…how did it happen?" Ezra asked.

Kanan gestured to the tiled floor around them and they sat. "She was killed by our clone troopers." Ezra watched as Kanan's eyes grew dark with memory. This was something he'd never told Ezra before, and the boy paid keen attention. "They received an order and turned traitor on us. We had to kill them—before they murdered us. But there were so many…" He didn't try to hide the sadness and anger that rolled off of him as he drudged up the memories. It was as if Ezra could feel the emotions being subsumed by the golden waves of the Force that surged around them. "She saved me…told me to run while she held them off." His eyes were shiny with tears he didn't let fall, and when Ezra looked up, he dropped his gaze. "She said she was going to follow me, but I knew…I knew it was a lie. I felt it when she died." His deep sorrow pierced their bond. "I ran away and blamed myself for a long time."

Ezra shook his head furiously. "Kanan, it wasn't your fault. She…she was your master. You had to do what she said…"

There was a long pause before Kanan took several deep breaths and then looked up with a sad smile.

"I know. Now I understand, though. I understand why she did it. Because of you."

"Wait…what do you mean?" Ezra was confused.

"Having you as a student…as my Padawan…makes me realize how she could make such a sacrifice." He didn't have to say the next part; Ezra could feel it in the bond flowing freely between them. Kanan would absolutely do the same for Ezra with no question. No matter where they were, Ezra knew he could trust that Kanan would be there for him in the same way. It was frightening, humbling and completely amazing. It only solidified his commitment to his Master and the training to come.

Kanan stood up. "C'mon, kid." He reached down to pull his Padawan to his feet.

The evening was cool and quiet with the buzzing sounds of far off insects. The sky was a dusky purple of night, and the gurgling of the moving water was soothing. "We'll stay down here tonight and climb up in the morning."

Ezra nodded, feeling a full body tiredness that made him want to sink down right now and fall asleep on the stone platform. Kanan laid their packs beside the entrance to the temple, rummaged around inside one of them and tossed Ezra a ration bar. "Eat something."

Ezra was munching on it when Kanan commed Hera. Even though it was late, she answered immediately.

"Hera." He walked across the platform, toward the river's edge.

"Kanan?" There was a fear in her voice and he spoke quickly to quell it.

"Ezra is fine. He did it." He smiled as he glanced at Ezra, who was staring across the river at the other shore as he ate. The kid glanced up at Kanan when his name was spoken.

"That's great. And **you**?"

"I'm fine. Better than fine." He said, looking down with a smile in his voice. "I found what I needed to know. Everything's okay."

"That's…that's wonderful." He could hear her relief.

He looked up at the spangled night sky and the top of the gorge where he knew the _Ghost_ waited for them. "It's late, so we'll spend the night here and climb up tomorrow. We're both pretty beat."

"Of course. Be careful down there, love. Both of you."

"We will. Goodnight, Hera." He clicked off on the comm and turned to see Ezra resting back against the rock wall next to the entrance to the temple. The boy's eyes were heavy, but Kanan could still see him holding the kyber crystal, his face lit by the blue glow. Kanan joined him, taking a blanket from his supply pack and draping it over Ezra in as the kid leaned into him for warmth. He reached up with one hand and smoothed the kid's dark hair.

An aura of calm settled over him, and he drifted into a deep slumber. During the night, he was aware of the presences of an immense number of Jedi gathered around him, watching their rest with approval. The next morning, when he awoke, they were gone.

* * *

Soon after daybreak, Kanan and Ezra awoke and began to ascend, using the climbing ropes that were still fastened to the top of the gorge. The steep sides of the gorge made for a challenging climb. Kanan made sure to stay behind Ezra's progress, so he could keep an eye on his Padawan. The kid was doing well, slowly picking his way up the cliffside.

They were almost near the top of the gorge when the problem began with Ezra's rope. Kanan wasn't sure how he knew, but he could feel imminent danger in the Force, a tugging that pulled his attention toward Ezra. His eyes scanned the kid, moving up from him to the rope. It had caught on a jagged section of rock and began to fray. He could sense the fiber's weakness up above them.

"Ezra. Stop moving." Kanan called.

"What?" Ezra asked.

"Stop climbing." He could sense the rope a minute before it parted, and there wasn't enough time for him to reach the kid. There was a short cry as Ezra began to fall, scraping his hands as he struggled to grasp at the rocks and brush that grew on the side of the gorge.

"Ezra!" At the moment he fell, Hera's face was visible over the edge, eyes wide with terror.

Kanan's free hand was out, reaching as the kid came to a stop a few hundred feet below. He _pulled_ with the Force, his hand clenching into a partial fist as Ezra began to float upwards. He began to _push_ when Ezra rose above him, toward the edge. Hera and Zeb grabbed the boy's arms when they could reach him and they pulled him in to the edge, safely.

As soon as Kanan let go, he sagged in the climbing harness for a moment, his head bowed as he took in great gasps of air. He'd forgotten to breathe the entire time—his concentration had been so focused.

"Kanan?" Hera hesitated as he didn't answer. "Kanan, he's fine." She called down, her arm around Ezra. The kid was shuddering with the memory of falling. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He called up, lifting his head to meet Hera's worried gaze. "Sorry. I'm coming up."

Kanan began climbing again. When he reached the top, he reached out and Zeb hauled him over the edge.

Immediately Ezra threw himself at Kanan in a bear hug. Kanan fell back a couple of steps, surprised by the force of the embrace. "You're okay." He wrapped one arm around his Padawan's shoulders. "I had you," he whispered. "I'll always have you, kid."

Hera joined them in the hug, and Sabine and Zeb followed.

* * *

A/N: Hi everyone. Sorry it took me so long to put an end to this. I've had this written for a while, I just was mulling it over and as I see at the moment, it seems like a good end. I've had a lot of crazy things happen to me lately and some sad things, so please excuse the wait. (I had a family member diagnosed with cancer.) Thanks for all the reviews. They really have kept me going. Now for a public service announcement...

Lots of readers on here leave comments, but lots don't. If you leave comments, THANK YOU! You keep fanfic authors like me writing. We work so hard to allow you these glimpses into our favorite worlds and all of us DESERVE to know how you felt about their work. It energizes us, and keeps us going during the tough times. If you read one chapter and it's not for you, I totally get not commenting, but if you like a piece, say so! You don't have to be a high quality literary critic, but just mention a part you liked. You never know when your words might make the difference between a writer finishing a piece or starting a new piece. You are so important in this work that we, as fanfic writers do. So get out there and throw some love towards a fanfic author. It's the least you can do and chances are, you'll make someone's day so much brighter!


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